When Love crashes through mind’s familiar understanding of how things ought to be, mind can only cry out, “That’s a miracle!”
“No,” Love answers, “that’s just the way I am.”
~Emmanuel’s Book III
This whimsical quote always makes me smile. Love, apparently, has some attitude, and delights in expressing itself, sometimes to everyone’s surprise. Yet, as A Course in Miracles teaches, miracles are ordinary occurrences, the universal blessing of existence, as natural as breathing, the essence of creation.
Miracles tap us on the shoulder, urging us to wake up, to remember who we are. Once awake, we recognize ourselves as Love’s expression, ever expanding into infinity and beyond (as Buzz Lightyear aspired), beyond what the mind can understand or contain, and certainly beyond the limits of what the mind can control.
We are so hesitant to release our imagined security in the logical structures of mind’s certainty. But if these structures were so reliable, why would we continue over millennia to argue about what belongs and what doesn’t, and how it all fits together? We think in terms of what makes sense, but isn’t that an interesting term – “making” sense? If sense is something that has to be “made,” then how reliable can it be?
“I think; therefore I am,” declared Descartes. But are my wandering, scattered, occasionally noble, occasionally not very noble, repetitive, fleeting thoughts really the most convincing proof of my existence? Oh dear. Don’t get me wrong. I am often quite fond of my thoughts, and they are useful and even necessary to navigating this human experience. But do they define me? I hope not. I hope I am not limited to even my most impressive and admirable thoughts.
Thankfully, Love does indeed crash through mind’s efforts to build reality like the Tower of Babel. Love shows up to show us something more, something that, when we release our fear, seems familiar, like something we remember. Like home. That’s just the way Love is.
Hi Galen,
I’ve always loved the expression “the Tao that can be described is not the Tao.”
I think love is also like that!
This morning, after my daily walk and meditation, I sat on a bench beneath a tree to pray. Above me, perched on a branch was a tiny bird, happily chirping a tiny chirp. I was at that moment overwhelmed by such a profound feeling of love, I find I can’t properly describe it without it sounding as though I’ve fallen in love with a bird!
Perhaps love is a language only the soul can understand.
That’s a great connection between those quotes, Tammy. And I love your story about falling in love with a bird. That is a great description of the overwhelming joy of a moment of transcendent love. How wonderful that you could pay attention and be open to receiving that precious gift. Your last sentence was beautiful and says it all. Thank you for your lovely comment.