By Matthew Anderson, D. Min.Boca Raton, Florida
December 24, 2007
Dear Reader,
Please consider this article a love letter from me to you.
As Hafiz has said, “The subject tonight is Love and for tomorrow night as well. As a matter of fact, I know of no better topic for us to discuss until we all die!”
You came into this world completely ready for love. You were undefended, open, receptive and responsive. You were a miracle of love prepared to bless whoever looked into your shining face. You had no reservations about giving everything you had to anyone who would reach out to you. That is how you showed up here and that is what you still are in the deepest part of your being.
Things got rather tough after that. You were ready for love and you offered it gladly but not everyone was able to return it. That really hurt. You could not understand why your love was not returned. Why could they not see what was so obvious and wonderful?
You could not find answers to your questions so you decided that something was wrong with you and that love was dangerous. Maybe you were not so loveable and maybe protection was better than an open heart. You lost your innocence and you acquired a new skill that you have practiced until this very day: fear.
Yes, I know you were hurt badly. You experienced betrayal, disappointment, loss, disillusionment, despair and great fear. You resigned yourself to a life of partial loves and partial openings and became a master of disguise to protect your heart.
I know this path well because I have walked it many times. I am intimate with the demons we both call hurt and betrayal and despair. I also fell prey to their attacks and for a long time I was certain that love was either too dangerous or too impossible to find again. Protection and disguise seemed to be my only trustable partners.
Finally, in despair, I called into the darkness and asked for help. I could tell you a long story about this process but for today the end is the most important part of the tale. An answer came to me in that darkest of places and it came from the most surprising place: My own heart.
This is what it told me.
“You have been hurt. You have also decided that love is too dangerous and life too unpredictable for you to open your heart ever again. Relationships appear as seductive traps that can only bar your freedom and once again disappoint your innocence and wound your hidden tenderness. You want only to retreat to the false safety of your books, quite places and the familiar loneliness of solitude. Yes, I know you well, and I know this is how you live but this cannot be for long. This cannot be because this is not life, and this is not who you are and why you are here.
My dear, you are here for Love. Love is who you are, and love is where you are bound. Anything less than this is a sad and substitute destined to cheat you of the wonder and miracle of this blessed calamity called life.
You are here for Love, and Love is your best and only friend. It is your guide for healing and health and for the vision that will lead you to all your generous and powerful gifts. Love will not let you down. It is far larger and stronger than any fear or hurt past or present.
Will Love ask you to risk yourself? Will it lead you into places that seem beyond your ability or strength? Will it shatter your images of your limitations and powers? Oh, yes it will, and it will introduce you to your true essence and the essence of every other heart you ever meet in this world. Once you trust Love, nothing will ever be the same again. Everything will reveal its true meaning to you, and you will discover that life itself is and always has been what you are: Love.”
I have not been the same since my heart spoke its truth to me. I hope in some small way, after reading this love letter, you will be changed also and are more receptive to the tender messages of your own heart. May Love be your guide.
Dr. Matthew Anderson is a counselor, organizational consultant, seminar leader and the author of books and tapes that can help you overcome your obstacles to well-being.
E-Mail: dra@drausa.com
© 2007 Matthew Anderson and Associates
