I believe there is a false sense of security hidden within many of us who think that openly expressing our love weakens us and takes away our power. Our feeble-minded ego won’t ever free us to enjoy the beautiful sensation of loving and being loved in return. First of all, it’s wrong to imply that the love and appreciation by real persons helping to raise our confidence has nothing to do with our security. Thinking this way denies these people any credit, instead accusing them of being weak and insecure pleasers. And because these egotists don’t want to look weak or lose control by giving love to someone else, they hide or block the flow of love towards others. The truth lies in the open expression of love and support; this is strength, power, and a sacred bond that’ll break this spell of fear in us and gently remind our egos to take their proper place. Then these true feelings of love can grow into something deeper and even more wonderful because we’re joined through the promise of trust that ties us together rather than our foolish pride that hides or blocks this flow of love.
We might have been conditioned in the past to believe that we’re weak and lose control by giving all our love away. But this is furthest from the truth. We can trust that there is never any loss by giving love away. As Gary Zukav says, “Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything and love is all there is.” Those who foolishly keep love tightly under control will find themselves living in constant fear, even while surrounded by the most loving of relationships.
Yet for those who passionately express this power of love, even when it is not recognized or cherished by others, are sure to meet its fountain of supply flowing within themselves because they have trusted that it will always be there. We’re all meant to discover this beautiful place that will continually cast out our fears.
This greatest realization comes to us when we’re able to recall the power behind our confidence that probably first came through to us from an outside source of loving support. Sadly, it rarely ever comes to any of us from ourselves alone; this is especially true while we’re keeping it tightly inside ourselves for fear of losing it! This love is in all of us and it comes from God. If we take off our blindfolds we are sure to see where our sense of esteem and confidence comes from, whether it’s through the love and support of a parent, a spouse, or in a relationship close to us. This source is the real reason we weren’t needy or insecure in the first place! Some of us have been carried by someone else for a lifetime before we saw who truly was carrying us; and then we recognized Who was really carrying us. Most of us are surrounded with loving people serving our needs because they love us unconditionally. We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking we don’t need anyone because we’re doing it alone. We’re not. God put love in our hearts to nurture everything we see around us, and especially to love one another.
Sadly, there are also too many of us who haven’t had the earlier love or nurturing that showed us the way to love. And just as sad are people who foolishly put their love only in material things; others are co-dependent on others to provide them with this fountain of love. Surely, we are all God’s children who are under his loving protection. We have the chance to show everyone our discovery and where this fountain of love, this fountain of wealth, really springs from. Each time we remember to bring more love into all our relationships, we’re teaching others that there is no other fountain of wealth but inside us.
About Catherine Nagle: Catherine grew up in Philadelphia with 16 brothers and sisters, reared by loving, old-school Italian parents. Catherine’s artist father’s works graced churches and public buildings; her mother was a full-time homemaker. A professional hairdresser, Catherine worked in various salons while studying the Bible and pursuing spiritual growth through courses, seminars, lectures, the works of Marianne Williamson, and through conferences, including the National Theology of the Body Congress.
She is an Ambassador of the Society of Emotional Intelligence and a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. The mother of two children, and now a grandmother, Catherine lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and son. She is the author of Imprinted Wisdom and a contributor to Anne Born’s These Winter Months: The Late Orphan Project Anthology.
Originally published at medium.com