Celebrating what can be celebrated is one of the most joyful and inspiring things in our lives. During my recent visit in Germany, we (children, grand children and great grand children, with or without partners), came together to celebrate my parents' diamond wedding -- 60 years of marriage. The photo above is of my mother's colorful decoration of the lunch table with spring flowers and branches from her garden and chocolate lady bugs for the kids. It was a beautiful occasion. Such a lasting and loving marriage is not given to everybody, especially not all that often to the generations after theirs. There was sadness on my nephew's face because he had recently separated from his second wife. I am single, too, but due to everybody else's reluctance, it was up to me to give the speech that my parents felt belonged to such an occasion.
In reflecting on this, I realized that my being single didn't stand in the way of my appreciating and celebrating their love and long life together. We all have experience of loving relationship in one form or another. We all know the moment-to-moment experience of our heart closing with conflict, disappointment or pain, and thus the challenge of keeping our hearts open, or daring to open them again. These are the most deeply meaningful and spiritually growth-full experiences of our human lives. And celebrating others in their loving relationship is inspiring for all of us, as it evokes the reality, truth and power of love in our own hearts. It's contagious and healing at the same time (except if we hold on to a belief that we're deprived, or not capable, of living it, which is not true, ever).
And so the day was an occasion for all of us to bask in the glow of love. No doubt some of us took that in more fully than others, but all of us were touched by Love's grace, even my nephew for whom all of our hearts were beating with tender compassion. We were touched by my parents' love, which created our family, and our love for each other, including all the rough edges, of course! There is no human story without those, but there is also no human story without a touch of Love's grace. It's up to us what we choose to focus on.
In reflecting on this, I realized that my being single didn't stand in the way of my appreciating and celebrating their love and long life together. We all have experience of loving relationship in one form or another. We all know the moment-to-moment experience of our heart closing with conflict, disappointment or pain, and thus the challenge of keeping our hearts open, or daring to open them again. These are the most deeply meaningful and spiritually growth-full experiences of our human lives. And celebrating others in their loving relationship is inspiring for all of us, as it evokes the reality, truth and power of love in our own hearts. It's contagious and healing at the same time (except if we hold on to a belief that we're deprived, or not capable, of living it, which is not true, ever).
And so the day was an occasion for all of us to bask in the glow of love. No doubt some of us took that in more fully than others, but all of us were touched by Love's grace, even my nephew for whom all of our hearts were beating with tender compassion. We were touched by my parents' love, which created our family, and our love for each other, including all the rough edges, of course! There is no human story without those, but there is also no human story without a touch of Love's grace. It's up to us what we choose to focus on.
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