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Seven Amazing Ways to Become Love Today

The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. – Gilbert K. Chesterton

Every now and then we have a revelation there is only one thing that really matters. Take away whatever is keeping us busy and we discover without that one thing nothing else really matters.

To find this one thing, inspiration can sometimes be found in the strangest places. One of my favorite movies is City Slickers (1991) starring Billy Crystal as Mitch and Jack Palance as Curly. While riding the trial, Mitch and Curly share the following philosophical conversation:

Curly: | You know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger]
Curly: | This.
Mitch: | Your finger?
Curly: | One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.
Mitch: | But, what is the “one thing?”
Curly: | [smiles] That’s what you have to find out.

After watching the scene, it occurred to me the one thing that provides the answer to the secret of life is love. Love for my family, love for my wife, love for the amazing gifts in my life and love for myself.

With love, I feel whole and centered. Love gives me the energy to keep moving forward and to face the challenges with confidence and to celebrate the victories with enthusiasm. Every day I attempt to find love in my life and to become love for others.

Love is generous and amazing. To make love a part of your day, every day, consider these seven amazing ways to become love:

  1. Love is a choice.
    There is a difference between love, the feeling and love the choice. Throughout life, we often have the opportunity to fall in love. Feelings of excitement are often associated with love when it is first experienced.

    It can feel very good to fall in love and it can feel very empty when the love is taken away. However, in order to live a happy and purposeful life it is important to choose to become a loving person. Even though we can’t always control or predict when we may feel love, we do have the power to choose to become love. We get to choose when and how to act with love.

    Opportunities exist every day to choose love.

  2. Love yourself, first.
    Before you can share love, you must first have love for yourself. Otherwise, how can you share what you don’t have?

    However, it may be difficult to find happiness and peace if you don’t think of yourself as worthy of receiving love. Self love is the most important element of becoming a spiritually healthy person. Love for self gives you balance, it centers you, and it keeps you on track when circumstances in life attempt to derail you.

  3. Give yourself love.
    The challenge to giving yourself love becomes when you have never learned how to love yourself in the first place. Some may find it difficult to self love, not because of their feelings of worthiness, but because they don’t know how.

    Because of childhood events, or other life experiences, some don’t even understand they are allowed to self love. If you have difficulty with the idea of self love, consider imagining you are holding the smaller you; the younger you. What would you say? Would you show love? Chances are you would. Extend that same love to yourself today.

  4. Make time for love.
    What’s more important to you, watching television or providing your focus to the person standing in front of you requesting your time and attention? Often times when we think we are too busy to give some of our time, some of our love, we are really just making the choice to do something else.

    The five minutes it might take to be fully present for someone or to return the telephone phone call to a friend who needs to talk, or to give and receive a hug can be the best time invested all day – and this investment will come back to you with more meaningful returns than perhaps anything else you may do.

  5. Try to see the best in others, not the worst.
    When you expect good things to happen, good usually does happen. When you expect the best in someone, you often receive that, too. Bottom line: You usually get what you asked for in life.

    Begin learning how to experience those in your life (co-workers, friends, and family) as essentially good, worthy and full of incredible value. Look for ways they please you, surprise you, and make your life better. They will feel your admiration, confidence and love for them.

  6. Do your best to do your best, never try to do your worst.
    Becoming love takes effort. Becoming love is a commitment to show grace and compassion to others no matter how upset or discouraged you may feel. Becoming love has no margin for short-cuts or intentional ill-will. When you set out to try to do your best, no matter the circumstance, it will come back to you 20-fold or more.
  7. Celebrate the love in your life.
    Love is a miracle. When you are able to share your love and become love you have something worth treasuring and celebrating. We should never take love for granted – it can be snatched away quickly and without mercy.

    Celebrate your loving heart and celebrate how blessed your life is becoming as you become love to more and more people. Celebrate the “one thing” in your life with passion and enthusiasm.

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Alex Blackwell is the Founder of The BridgeMaker. His book, How to Love Consciously, is now available as a free download here. Join Alex and The BridgeMaker community on Facebook and don’t forget to get your free subscription to receive free updates and exclusive content.


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Comments

14 Responses to “Seven Amazing Ways to Become Love Today”

  1. Dia on August 7th, 2011 12:51 pm

    Hi Alex,

    Giving love to ourselves and to others is very important in life. I like that you try to find love daily. This is crucial my friend. Once we practice to be kind rather than being right, our lives will change for the better. Thanks for this beautiful post Alex. :)

  2. John Sherry on August 8th, 2011 9:41 am

    Stunning, beautiful, moving, gentle, flowing – a powerful piece of writing Alex. Love is something we should let power our choices, actions, and decisions. Then we’d see problems become butterflies and arguement become understanding. Love first, everything else follows that, everything that matters.

  3. Alex Blackwell on August 8th, 2011 10:13 am

    Dia – So true, I would rather be happy than right!

    “Problems become butterflies,” that is the power of love John. Thanks for sharing this.

  4. Danielle on August 9th, 2011 3:46 am

    Thank you Alex….
    It good to remind ourselves about what we are made of and that at some point we are aware of!!!

    Indeed becoming love takes time and work…but I am happy to take that time and work for because it does bring unexpected shower of love from everywhere…and above all giving love for me is energizing as it is a beautiful cycle of give and receive!!!
    Thank you for your post Alex…Bless

  5. Alex Blackwell on August 9th, 2011 5:07 am

    Bless you Danielle for working for love. Love is wonderfully energizing and provides so much – thanks for being an ambassador of its grace.

  6. Angela Artemis/Poweredbyintuition on August 9th, 2011 7:53 am

    Alex,
    This was an amazing post. It’s so simple isn’t it? Love. Why do we continually over complicate things? Love for yourself and love for others and for everything in you life. This is also the message I hear repeatedly from those who have made their transition too. They always say we don’t love enough and, that’s what it’s all about. Thank you for this inspiring reminder.

  7. Lorraine Cohen on August 9th, 2011 6:43 pm

    Love is the vibration of this new Age and it is our nature. When feeling conflicted I am reminded of the questions I have included in prior posts – What would love see, what would love say, and what would love do? When I look at people and situation with Divine eyes,my heart opens with compassion and my response flows from the best of who I am. Thank you again for the reminders Alex.

  8. Alex Blackwell on August 9th, 2011 7:25 pm

    Angela, it is simple, honest and true. Love is indeed my one thing and it sounds like it’s yours, too.

    I think love would say exactly what’s in your heart Lorraine. Bless you my friend, forever.

  9. Stuart on August 10th, 2011 4:48 am

    It’s true, love makes the world go round.

    Every choice that we make is born from either love, or fear. These, I believe, are the two core areas for all action.

    The more we act out of love, the more the world moves towards a happier, more loving level. The more we act out of fear, the more the world drifts towards a fearful, angry level.

    Love is the key to elevating the world to it’s highest potential :-)

  10. Alex on August 10th, 2011 12:24 pm

    I love this quote from Jacques Decour who was part of the resistance in World War 2 and was executed by the Nazis at the age of 32 – he wrote this in a letter to his family:

    “Now each of us is preparing to die …We are preparing, thinking about what is to come, about what is going to kill us without your being able to do anything to defend ourselves …  This is truly the moment for us to remember love.  Did we love enough? Did we spend hours a day marveling at other people, being happy together, feeling the value of contact, the weight and the worth of hands, eyes, bodies?  Do we yet really know how to devote ourselves to tenderness?  Before we pass away in the trembling of an earth without hope, it is time to become, entirely and definitely, love, tenderness, and friendship, because there is nothing else.  We must swear to think of nothing anymore but loving, loving, opening our souls and our hands, looking with our best eyes, clasping what we love tightly to ourselves, walking free from anxiety, and radiant with affection.

  11. Alex Blackwell on August 10th, 2011 6:20 pm

    True words Stuart – love gives us the best foundation to build and live and lives. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

    Alex, a bittersweet, but poignant quote. It perfectly summarizes why we live and how we should go about doing it.

  12. jonathanfigaro on August 11th, 2011 9:52 am

    Seeing the best in others is sometimes fair-tale.
    Most never open there hearts and mind, to see the best in a person. I think we have all been there. Seeing to best in all we meet takes time because humans like to judge based upon appearance. But once we get surpassed this. Much can be done and much growth has been created internally.

    Love your work Alex. Always been a Fan. And will continue to be.

  13. Alex Blackwell on August 12th, 2011 6:03 am

    You have a generously open heart Jonathan – that what makes me a fan of yours, too and a friend.

  14. Salvatore Inserra on September 3rd, 2011 6:42 pm

    Love these quotes as I have my self a website with quotes about life. Thought it would be wise to share my favorite quote: “It’s the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what’s right.” – Peter Parker

What do you think?