Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step out of it. ~Rainer Maria Rilke
Is it so hard to believe that we are loved? If so, can we look within to discover what messages we have internalized suggesting that we are unloved or unlovable? Can we question those messages with compassion and curiosity rather than shame and self-criticism? Could we consider, even for a moment, that those messages might not be true?
Many of us are conditioned by our family, community, education, religion, and culture to believe that we are unworthy, lacking, defective in some way. But our conditioning is not our destiny. If we can recognize our conditioning, the internal narrative that runs on autopilot in the background of our minds, we can release it. We can make a different choice for ourselves.
What would our lives be like if we believed in this bequest of love from the universe? If we embraced the truth of such generosity for ourselves, we might be more willing to share with others the unconditional love that showers us with grace in every moment. Perhaps we might pause before reacting with irritation or anger or defensiveness. Perhaps we might have compassion for those we are usually quick to judge. Perhaps we might stop to listen to a child, or smile at a stranger, or notice something beautiful.
We are not powerless. We are magnificent. We are loved, not because we are worthy, but because we are love, vast, ever expanding, inescapable. This is the birthright of all creation. Believe it.
My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite. ~Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet