Love is a River

Unconditional love—or Real Love—is a river that flows throughout the universe and gives life to everything it touches. I am not being metaphorical here. This energy is literal, even palpable. All things are united by the flow of this river, which is infinite and eternal. Although its existence is incontrovertible, we still choose what our relationship to the river will be. We always have a choice, but once that choice is made, we cannot choose the inevitable consequences that follow our choices.

We can, for example, deny the entire existence of the river, as we have done with a great many truths from the beginning of time. If we choose to deny Real Love, we'll still feel it on occasion, and we'll see its effects in the lives of others, but we won't clearly recognize what we're feeling or seeing, and our denial will greatly limit our ability to experience the lifegiving benefits. On many occasions I have seen people sit at the edge of the river—an arm's length away from life—while bitterly complaining that they were dying of thirst.

We can swim against the river, fighting the notion of love and those who claim to have it. Exhausting. We can be cynical and angry, which won't change the flow of the river, but again we'll be confused and exhausted by our struggle with what is true and gives life.

Or we can drink from the river and never thirst again. If we drink consistently, we'll discover a miracle. As we dip our hands in the current, the water flows up our arm, across our body, and down the other arm, where it fills our hand and becomes a spring from which other people can drink. As we do this, we become part of the river. The more that flows through us, the more we have to share and to enjoy ourselves. Never is there a danger that we will deplete the flow--infinite and eternal.

The river is always there, and so is our choice. We can drink and live or refuse and die. We can share with others, spreading life and magnifying our own joy, or we can allow it to trickle through our fingers onto the sand. What will you do today with the river?