I was on the elliptical at the gym the other morning and I started looking around at all of the strangers joining me in exercise. My SI-friend who is my work out buddy and a food-goddess was sick and couldn't meet me there, but going along with my goal of keeping promises to myself, I went alone. I was sort of catching Good Morning America on the tv screens and kind of getting worked up about a news story when I stopped myself and did some thought work instead. I didn't want to feel discouraged about the housing market, or dismayed about a government shut down, so instead, I started looking around the gym at my fellow strangers . I went from the old guy on the bike to the buff guy on the stair master, to the 3 middle aged women on the treadmill and the one college age girl a little ways down from me on an elliptical. I went from one face to the next just feeling love for them. I thought about how awesome they are to put their health first and to take the time to work out and move their God-given bodies. I thought about the people at home waiting for them, or the jobs they would go to next and the people they would serve there. I thought about how we are all children of God just doing our best and I was just awash with all sorts of gooey, soft feelings of LOVE!
Love
It's an emotion
It's created by thoughts
My own thoughts.
And when I think loving thoughts I get to feel love.
The object of my love doesn't feel it. The fellow VASA-ites weren't even aware that I was gushing all over them in my mind. My Love didn't jump out of my body into theirs.
These exercisers will only feel love if they think loving thoughts also.
This concept is huge for me. No wonder in the scriptures Jesus is always preaching about unconditional Love-- it's because the guy on the street or my neighbor that I'm having unconditional love for doesn't feel it, I do, AND my loving thoughts and feelings may make me act in a more generous and kind way which just makes the world BETTER! When he teaches the higher law of loving your enemy--it's for US! Why go around feeling hate for your enemy? Your enemy doesn't get to feel this hate only you do.
Sometimes I might be tempted to with-hold love in order to punish someone.
BUT.....It will never punish them. It will only punish me, because I'll be denying myself love.
They won't feel my hurt or resentment or anger. They will have their own thoughts that create hurt, resentment and anger.
So when I'm upset with a child, sibling, friend, Donald Trump or Wayne and I'm feeling angry or jealous or disappointed or hateful, guess what? I'm the only one that gets to feel it, and it's exhausting. The people I'm feeling all of this about and having thoughts over don't ever feel it!
Thought work is really important. It's important to remember I am not my Thoughts. I am the thinker of my thoughts. So I'm choosing thoughts that generate LOVE
Love is the best feeling on the planet.
Choose it every time.
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Celebrated sister Angela and Wanee's birthdays this past week. I love them both FIERCELY
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