evening reflections:Love knows itself

"Love is the recognition of yourself in another."

— Eckhart Tolle

"What you wish for yourself, first give to another."

— Neale Donald Walsch

These words may sound lofty at first — but really, they speak to something tender and human.

Love isn’t performance.

It isn’t perfection.

It’s not earned or proven.

Love is seeing.

It’s when you look at someone and, without effort, you recognize yourself — your essence as the same as another’s, it is your humanness.

That’s what Eckhart meant.

When the heart loves, it simply knows.

It sees and it gives — without needing permission.

Ram Dass said, “All the heart knows is to give. Here, take it all. It’s only when the mind steps in, that tricks it.”

And isn’t that true?

We love so easily… until the mind interrupts.

Until fear says: protect yourself.

Until memory says: don’t forget what happened last time.

Until doubt says: it’s not safe here.

And yet, love still wants to give.

Still wants to offer.

Still longs to extend itself like light.

And Neale Donald Walsch reminds us:

If you desire gentleness, offer gentleness.

If you long to be seen, see someone else.

If you ache for comfort, be a comfort.

This isn’t self-sacrifice, because it’s free.

It’s self-remembrance.

Because what you give with a true heart is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.

So tonight, if your heart feels a little raw, or a little open, or a little both —

Honor it.

Let it be what it is: wise, generous, whole.

When Light Meets Stillness