What is SUCCESS for You?

Most of us learn that success equals some form of achievement in the world.   For many it’s not the achievement but the recognition and the applause that they crave.  For others it’s not the arrival but the journey that generates the satisfaction of success.  They value the process more than the prize.  For some the pursuit of success will be avoided at all costs, sometimes for fear of failure, and sometimes for the fear of ...success!  And, for a few, just living simply and sincerely each day will be deemed to be successful enough!  

At some stage in all our lives there’s a good chance we will each stop and consider the question, “What does success mean to me?”, even if it’s only for a few fleeting minutes! However, if we don’t contemplate this question deeply then it’s likely we will blindly follow others ideas and measures of success, usually learned in childhood, craved in youth and pursued into our adult years.  We may not notice the connection between our dissatisfactions, however superficial or deep, with the absence of a consciously defined and chosen idea of a what ‘successful life’ looks like and feels like. It is the clarity of this inner vision/wisdom that gives focus to our energies, adding significantly to the sense that we are creating a meaningful life.

So what price success?  That’s the note that many of the modern day ‘success gurus’ begin and end on.  It means how much are you prepared to sacrifice to achieve the success you want.  How hard are you prepared to work?  What are you willing to do to get there?  What sacrifices are you prepared to make?  Interesting questions, but they do make it all sound like hard work!  

How do YOU define success? Is it simply the completion of the next task, another job well done, a promise kept, an exam passed, a medal won, a mountain climbed, a target hit, a happy family raised or the leaving of a legacy that ensures you will be remembered long after you have gone? Whatever you ‘believe’ success to be will have a profound influence on your life. If you were to follow the predominant mindset in the world today then success would likely be measured by acquisition. The more you have the more successful you are. 

When we inherit and absorb the prevalent beliefs that the world is a place of scarcity, that the purpose of life is survival, that we must accumulate stuff to prosper, and that the more you get the happier you will feel, then success equals ‘more’.  More can be almost any quantity - objects, money, properties, trophies, celebrity, fame, fans.  And in terms of position, it simply means higher.

When we are taught to believe there is not enough to go around the media delights in keeping us abreast of upcoming shortages.  And if there aren’t any obvious ones they will likely invent them for us!  So we learn to speak the common language of `not enoughness’ or ‘scarcity'. We then struggle and strive for what we consider is our rightful share of the ‘great pie’, before someone else gets it, and ‘more’ is not only good, but applauded when attained.  

So what does it mean to be successful? At what level, in what context and by whose standards? 

If you were to give yourself some time to live in this question you would likely arrive at the fairly obvious insight that, at the deepest level, success in life is not a material thing, it is not something that can be possessed, or won, or even attracted!  It is a state of being.  Some call it contentment, or happiness, or even peace. These are, for some, the deepest and most meaningful ‘symptoms of success’, but only when they are internally stable and consistent and therefore not dependent on anything outside ourselves.  

In the meantime success for most of us, tends to be context specific.  As we consider ‘context’ we start to see why the kind of success that we have been encouraged to pursue has many levels and more than a few flaws.

SPORTING Success - in this context it’s obviously about competition and winning, being number one and being recognised and glorified by others as the one who took the prize.  How often are we reminded that no one remembers the runner up?  But few seem to ask why would I want to be remembered?  Should the desire to be ‘not forgotten’ have a ‘danger sign’ hung around it that says ‘ego at work’?  And notice how much suffering is required to reach the sporting peaks.  Seldom do we see relaxed and contented sports people as they take their struggling and striving very seriously.  They will say it’s worth the pain.  Others would say life was not meant to be a painful, tense and injurious affair, inflicted upon our self by ourselves! Was sport not originally a game in which the ‘joy of play’ was given free reign?  A time when faces smiled consistently and frustration, tension and anger were impossible.

BUSINESS  Success - seems to range from building a large business to profitability to being recognised for excellence of service.  Sometimes all three parameters are pursued, but unless they are prioritised there is the danger none will be achieved.  And if profit is prioritised over service it’s fairly obvious that the energy behind the enterprise will become fear based and therefore quite a stressful endeavour.  Which explains why most business people know stress intimately.  It’s a serious business...business! And, when the ‘purpose of service’ is lost and the profit motive kicks in, that’s usually when need turns into greed and the ripple effect touches many far and wide.  Hence the global financial turmoil that we see today.

ACADEMIC Success - intellectual prowess tends to be the way this kind of success is achieved, coupled with rather a good memory, naturally!  It is often dependent on acquiring peer approval and the desire to join a select club.  It can easily result in an ‘I know the most and the best’ attitude; a closed and narrow mindset that tends to characterise the ‘specialist’ and the ‘expert’.  And is it not unnatural to be closed and narrow at any time and in any area of life, unless you are a water pipe!

SCIENTIFIC Success - new theories, new dimensions of old theories, inventions of new technologies, the creation of new procedures, making fresh discoveries, all carry the ‘success kitemark’ in the scientific arena.  Yet it’s all very material and ‘out there’ which tends to deny the other dimension we call spirit and the ‘in here’.  Scientific success certainly dominates our world today, but at what price we now ask, as we live increasingly isolated and technologically dependent lives, while sucking dry the natural wealth of the planet!  Mmm...!

POLITICAL Success - tends to be measured by the acquisition of position and power, though much ‘lip service’ is given to the notion of public service.  And while the intentions towards the upliftment of society are authentic and worthy we now know success in this arena is fragile and crumbles easily, can often be easily corrupted, and darker motives can often be found behind the desire to serve others.  And as more people rebel against the dictatorial political forces that have traditionally controlled our destiny,  as more people demand a greater say in their fate, we now see the moral and ethical chaos that is generated as we/they realise and exercise new freedoms.  

RELIGIOUS Success - once upon a time the pastoral care of a community provided the primary measure of a religions success.  But religion has also become blurred and burdened by it’s own structures and systems, internal politics and power games, not to mention the fanatical adherence to belief and behaviour systems that were invented hundreds of years ago in another age and in a completely different context.  

SPIRITUAL Success - is a state of being sometimes referred to as enlightenment.  But is it achieved or restored, or both?  Perhaps it’s one fundamental difference from the other ‘levels of success’ is you wouldn’t know someone has arrived at such an intangible and internal success unless you were in their presence for some time.  Even then their simplicity and humility would probably deflect attention away from themselves.  Can this form of  incognito success still be classified as ...success?

That’s not to say that success in any of the above arenas is not worth pursuing.  But there is value in considering how success is both viewed, defined and achieved in each context.

Inner Success

When we do take some time out and reflect on what exactly is personal success we may notice a deepening of our awareness.  We may realise that personal success comes in ways that we seldom recognise as signs of success!  The signs are internal and usually momentary in the context of our relationships.  And when we build and shape, design and create, these inner capacities and states, then all other levels of success become both easier to achieve, and yet, paradoxically, less relevant and/or much less meaningful.

Inner success looks and feels more like the capability: 

• to act with total honesty and integrity thus generating a clear conscience without which the authentic happiness that we call contentment is impossible
• to remain peaceful and stable when all around you are in crisis or chaos 
• to value what you are more than what you have
• to accept full responsibility for all thoughts, feelings, words and actions
• to be able to see past the weaknesses/mistakes of others and focus on their inherent goodness/strengths
• to be able to let go of the past
• to give without the desire for anything in return

Notice how intangible these measures are.  No one else can measure them except our self. Notice how we seldom ask ourselves why we cannot achieve and maintain these inner states of being and the kind of enlightened behaviours that we would probably all desire all the time.  Unless we ‘can do’ all of these it is unlikely we will achieve the deepest measure of success which is to be content within our self and able ‘to give’ our best to others without condition.  And as long as we desire to change the world around us it means we are still trying to ‘police the universe’.  The enlightened soul however, has realised that is not ‘my job’.  They know that the light and power that emanates from a stable state, a contented state, from a giving intention, is the greatest and most influential gift to others and to the world.

Success is Personal

As you reflect and contemplate on what success is going to look like and feel like for you, perhaps it’s useful to include three key considerations.

1  Any success that is dependent on public recognition and acclaim will inevitably lead to insecurity and eventual depression, as does all forms of dependency.

2  When success is defined by an end product, an outcome, or some final achievement, then life tends to be a continuous struggling and striving to ‘get there’.  Our happiness is continuously delayed.  In other words, not such a joy filled journey!

3  If success is defined by the acquisition or accumulation of anything then fear will always be lurking in the background.  Fear of failure which is the same as the fear of loss.  Stress will be our companion.

No matter which way that you look at it success is a very personal issue.  It tends to be shrouded in many illusions and delusions, depending on our upbringing.  It’s achievement is now championed by hundreds of success gurus and coaches, mentors and trainers, all waiting in the wings to advise and guide us.  All promising a ‘magic formula’ which ranges from the secrets of attraction to the power of self-belief, from the work harder ethic to the development of your creative genius, from how to ‘unleash’ your potential to invoking the angels of success to take over your life!

But before we listen to anyone (including this article) it’s probably worthwhile finding a tree, on a quiet and sunny hillside, by a peaceful meadow, next to meandering river, to sit and gently reflect on what only our own heart can tell us in response to the question, “What does success really mean to me”?   It will of course generate many other questions.  Like what is the purpose of my life?  What do I value?  But then ‘they’ do say that when it comes to this unique and special journey called life there is a time when the asking ‘right questions’ are much more important than having the right answers.

Question:  What does success mean to you?

Reflection:  Why do you think your definition of success might be challenging to achieve (scribble some notes to yourself)

The Anatomy of Change

Dealing With The Change.....! In a world where it’s seems easy to see the downside to all the economic  and environmental changes that we are facing we are encouraged not to complain and take responsibility with sayings like, “When I change the world changes” and “Be the change you want to see in the world” and “Change begins with me!”.   But we are usually left with more questions like why and what and how...exactly?  WHY do I have to change in order to make the world a better place?  Surely it’s not just up to me!   And WHAT exactly is it that we need to change?  And HOW and WHERE precisely do we start?  And WHICH world exactly - the big wide world or my little world?  WHO has the instruction manual? And WHY have those who say they have already started made so little difference? Change happens on three levels.  First - within our self, over which we have total control.  Second - in the thoughts and behaviours of others, over which we have no control, but perhaps some influence.  And third - in the big wide world out there, over which we have no control and almost no influence.   In the last twenty years the ‘change management’ industry has spawned an army of consultants and trainers whose mission is to help us to...manage change!  However, in most instances, ‘change management’ is an oxymoron simply because when the rubber hits the road any change process in the world cannot be managed (where managed generally infers controlled) only guided or influenced at best. Obvious Truth It seems an obvious truth that we can never control any event in the world more than three feet away from us.  We certainly cannot change other people.  And yet, if we were to take a moment to do some detective work on the cause of almost all our feelings of stress we would find they arise because we are trying to control what we can never control i.e. the world and other peoples behaviour.   The Enlightened Soul It is an enlightened soul who has realised this, which is why they can appear somewhat ‘other worldly’ as they never react emotionally to any event or anyone else’s behaviour.  They have seen within their own inner world that any kind of ‘emotional reaction’ is a sign that they have lost control of themselves.  They are aware that their emotions have been triggered, kicked in and taken over because they are still operating from the old belief that the world and those around ME should ‘dance to MY tune’!  It is an enlightened soul who has realised that it’s not what happens in the world out there that makes me feel this way; it’s what I do with the world out thre ‘in here’ that makes me feel this way!  And what we do with the world ‘out there’ begins with our perception ‘in here’.  Our perception is our creation, so in a real sense we are creating the world at every moment.  And what shapes our perception?  Mostly it’s our beliefs.  If you believe the world is a ‘dark and dangerous place’ you will more likely perceive scenes and situations as a threat.  Your thoughts and feelings will contain some form of fear and your actions in life are likely to become detrimental to your happiness.  Whereas if you believe the world is an ‘adventure playground’ you will see most situations and circumstances as an opportunity to be creative and playful, your thoughts and feelings will be joyful, and a steady state of happiness will more likely be your daily ‘insperience’.    So in a world of rampant change how are we to deal with what is not in our control?  We know change is inevitable but we don’t know precisely how it will happen.  No one teaches us how to prepare for the unknown, so perhaps there are just three questions we need to ask.  Are you READY?  Are you WILLING?  Are you ABLE?   Are you READY? The first principle of ‘change readiness’ lies in an easy to understand but hard to practice insight which reminds us that, “I cannot control anything or anyone in the world, all I can do is control my response to others and the world”.  When fully inculcated this basic truth begins to restore our self mastery if only because we stop trying to change others in order to serve our personal agenda.  This sets us free from the energy draining futility of constant failure.  It’s a failure that few of us notice as we don’t realise that most of our stressful feelings (towards others and the world) are really a sign we are trying to do what is impossible i.e. change others!  However, it’s hard to practice until we set our self free from the illusion that others are responsible for our happiness. When the urge to try to change others and the world diminishes we are able to realise and practice the ‘wisdom of acceptance’.  That means fully accepting the way people are, and the way the world is, at any given moment.  This starts to free our consciousness of our emotionally reactive habits.  Our inner peace is restored and it’s in this calm state that we are able to reflect and give our self the chance to see clearly and deeply the ‘patterns of change’ in the world around us both close and far.  This is the foundation of ‘foresight’ and the ability to ‘anticipate’ the changes that are coming.  If we don’t step off our treadmill of constant mental and emotional activity we deny our self the time and space to reflect and ‘anticipate’ future change.  We are then unable to discern what will be required to respond to what may be hurtling towards us! Each of us will find our own level at which we are inclined to ‘reflect’.  Some will explore ‘what’s changing’ close to home, perhaps at work, perhaps within their industry.  Others will be drawn to reflect at a global level as they intuit the patterns of change in the wider world that are going to affect us all in all corners. For example, the Bermuda Triangle is a place where boats and planes mysteriously disappear, never to be found again.    As a metaphor for living in a changing world our personal Bermuda Triangle is known as Food, Shelter and Clothing.  This is where most of our ‘money’ continues to disappear in ever increasing amounts!  The modern Bermuda Triangle, where huge chunks of ‘time’ now seems to disappear for a whole generation, is Email, Facebook and Twitter!  But the Bermuda Triangle that is about to transform all our lives, wherever we live in the world, is Energy, Economy and Environment.  Many now say it’s where our current ‘lifestyle’ is about to disappear!    To see how this may take place requires quiet, undisturbed reflective time, so that we may see the relationship and interconnections between these three global change factors and how they will cascade down into our personal lives.  Only then can we get a more accurate sense of what we need to do to prepare. Are You WILLING? It’s fairly obvious that if we fight any changes in the world itself, either mentally or physically, we only create stress for our self and drain our own energy.  In the context of our relationships any stressful feelings that we have towards another means we are in a state of resistance to them.  It means we want them to change first.  Whereas the wisdom of working with any energy that comes towards us is to embrace it and catch it’s momentum thereby giving our self a) the opportunity to use its momentum to our advantage and b) ‘influence’ its direction further down the road.  This is the Wisdom of the Judo Master i.e. to embrace whatever comes, combined with the Wisdom of the Surfer i.e. to ride the waves. We often resist someone we don’t like or disapprove of and the relationship becomes stuck.  But if we can put a metaphorical arm around them, walk with them, listen to them, gain their trust and respect, we remain stress free and the opportunity to influence them will inevitably arise.  We only have to let go of trying to fix, alter or control them...in our own minds.  We only have to make the inner shift from resistance to acceptance (which doesn’t mean approval or agreement).  This frees up our willingness to embrace, which in turn releases our creativity so we can make a creative contribution to the situation.  It’s that creative spark that then ignites our enthusiasm.  And the two most powerful influences upon any change pattern or process in the world are creativity and enthusiasm.   The one thing that sabotages these two attributes of the ‘change agent’ is fear.  Fear is always the projection of possible loss in the future.  It’s our fears that we have ‘to manage’ in any change management strategy.  This is when change management becomes self management.  We can only change or control our own thoughts and feelings.  Fear sabotages our self control as it paralyses our creativity and siphons off our enthusiasm.  This explains why many appear to be willing to deal with change, even embrace change ...at first!  But once they see how it may threaten to inflict some loss the willingness then dissipates, fear kicks in and then finds expression as resistance.  Eliminating our fears is not so easy as it requires the realisation that we have absolutely nothing to lose...ever!  Simply because, in truth, nothing can ever be ‘possessed’. Are You ABLE? There are many skills and capabilities that we can develop to ‘enable’ us to deal with a changing world.  Being resilient when that changing world serves up ‘the unexpected’ means being able learn from adversity, apply the learning quickly and bounce back strongly.  The capacity to stay light and optimistic, to forgive easily, turn any apparent problems into opportunities, help others and inspire others, are all recognised competencies of the change agent.  But it still leaves us with one particular question. What gives us the capability to meet all forms and all levels of change with an indestructible equanimity?  How can we remain ‘chilled’ at the coal face of a rampantly changing world? The wheel is always a good metaphor to remind us of how to position our self relative to what is apparently going on around us.  If we live only on the surface of our life it’s like being on the outer rim of the wheel.  We feel we are rushing through life and that life is rushing past us!  Occasionally, and perhaps frequently, we will feel we are being adversely bumped and buffeted by events.  Dealing with a changing world, locally or globally, then becomes energy sapping.  But if we can get to the centre of the wheel we find a stillness and a calmness that allows us to ‘observe’ the rising and falling, the ebbing and flowing, the ever revolving and evolving dramas of daily life around us.  From this ‘centredness’ we don’t waste or lose our energy.  We can also sense when to travel down one of the spokes of our metaphorical wheel and participate in certain scenes and situations, for however long or short that we feel appropriate. It’s in this centredness that we find our deepest and most natural state, which is one of silence and stillness.  This is the place, the ‘inner space’ of the self,  that never changes. It’s our addiction to the stimulations of a changing inner and outer world that keeps us from being still.  When we re-master the ability to ‘be in’ our natural still state we regain access to our inner peace and inner power.  That is what gives us both the stability and the ability that we need to deal with whatever the world may throw at us.     Question:  What are the key changes that you see are likely to impinge on your life in the near future? Reflection:  What skills, qualities, abilities etc. do you think you will need in order to navigate your way forward. Action:  Take five minutes three times every day this week and practice slowing your mind and just being still.  Notice the effect it has on the quality of energy that you give to others.

What does Love Mean to YOU......?

Both the words GOD and LOVE tend to come with their own baggage.  Baggage essentially means established and entrenched ideas and beliefs about what a word means.  For many people, but not all, the word God has the tendency to invoke ideas of religion and therefore division, of conversion and therefore of coercion, of conflict and therefore long wars, of penance and therefore suffering.  The word love, on the other hand, tends to invoke ideas of romance, finding your soul mate, the ‘broken heart’, being with your ‘lover’, wedding bells and raising families.  In both cases the true meaning of the words are almost entirely lost. 

Love is...

We all know there are many faces of love, many expressions that don’t instantly come to mind when love becomes the centre of our conversations. Care and compassion, patience and kindness, respect and appreciation are all faces of love that find expression and value in a much broader context than just a romantic relationship. However, when we can’t or fail to find the person who is going to be our ‘one love’, the person whom we believe is waiting exclusively for us, or when we seem to lose that one special love/r whom we believed was exclusively ours, we start to notice how fast these faces of love disappear.  Often they are replaced by animosity, resentment and regret, and sometimes depression.  In such moments we signal to our self and to the world that we don’t know love.  We thought we had it, so we thought we were doing it, but we didn’t and we weren’t!  If we were then acceptance, forgiveness and appreciation would be the currency of all our relationships at all times regardless of the level of intimacy.  

It’s probably safe to say that most of us intuitively know that love is both a selfless intention and benevolent action towards another. Deep in our hearts we know it’s an unconditional act.  And yet, many find themselves worrying and even obsessing about, “When will I find/get ‘MY’ true love?  Why has no one shown up to love ME? Why don’t you love ME anymore?.”  Is this love talking or simply a selfish desire to be treasured and comforted by another.   

Is Love a Fall?

When we do seemingly ‘fall in love’ with one other our consciousness tends to narrow into a mental obsession with them.  We can think of no one else.  And yet we also intuitively seem to know that love is not the energy of exclusivity.  Love is known and shown by someone who is open and wide, broad and deeply able to demonstrate inclusivity.  So perhaps ‘fall’ is the apporiate discription after all, because fall we do when we only have eyes, thoughts and time for one other.  But fall in love?  Unlikely!  Love is not what we fall into, it’s more like the opposite, it’s love that we fall ‘out of’ and attachment to the other that signals our ‘downward fall’.  Hence the passing of the honeymoon period, which is essentially the inevitable ending of the sizzling excitment of the others presence in our life as it fades into it’s own routines!  In many cases it’s only then that ‘real love’ starts to establish and stabilise the connection.  

This search for love also indicates that we have probably missed the deepest meaning of love.  To want, to desire, to crave to be loved is to forget love is not acquired, it is something that we are here to do.  How powerful is the societal myth that says love is a primary need of all humans beings?  It’s an idea that seeps into our soul and induces sorrow when our need is seemingly unfulfilled.  Little do we realise that freedom from all our sorrows, sufferings and sadnesses can only happen when we awaken to the truth about love - we don’t need to get it, we need to give it.  

From Being to Doing

Many a tale has been told of those who do awaken to this truth.  It is that moment when love is realised to be ‘here’, it is ‘now’, it is ‘I’.  From that moment onwards all is well ...all is well.  Why? Because all problems in all worlds, including the big world out there and the little worlds of home and work, are no longer viewed as problems, simply as signs of a temporary absence of love.  Stress is then seen for what it is in it’s simplest definition - the absence of love in our relationships.  Stress arises within and between people who have temporarily lost their awareness of the truth about love.  In co-opting and adapting Kennedy’s famous line perhaps we need to remind our self to ask not where, when and with whom I will find love, ask instead where, when and with whom can I be love?

And yet it’s only when ‘being’ is translated into ‘doing’, into action, free of the desire for something in return, that love can be fully known.  Paradoxically it is in such actions, such moments, that we naturally free ourselves from ‘the need’ to find and know love.  In such moments love needs no meaning, no definition, not even it’s own special poetry!  We are it! You are it!

The Special One

What then of mating?  What then of the grand search for our ‘soul mate’, for our one special love? It does seem that if you really want one you can have one!  Love is also the primary energy of creativity.  When we use that energy, which is essentially the energy of our consciousness, of our self, without the distortions of any attachments or dependencies, we are able to conjour, as if by magic, whatever we create within our minds.  When you create in such a free inner state, which is not an easy state to be in after a lifetime of being trapped in our attachments/dependencies, whatever you create will flow towards you.  Sit down and profile what you want in another, the kind of person you would like to be with, and they will likely show up...eventually.  The law of attraction is as much about manifestation as it is attraction.  And if you still feel there is only one special person meant just for you, they will also likely arrive...eventually!  Careful however, because if you are distracted in the moments when they do show up in front of you, then you may miss them!  And what distracts us?  Our attachments and dependencies, our desires and our addictions!

When Love is Lost...Temporarily!

While we may describe our special relationship with our ‘soul mate’ in terms of feelings, in terms of the depth, richness and intimacy of the connection that we feel with them, it may be a mistake to believe they are the only one with whom we can feel that way.  There may be others, there usually is.  Why?  Because  that’s probably the natural way that we used to feel with everyone until we lost our inner freedom, until we lost what some have called our ‘soul awareness’.   In that moment we lost our awareness of our self as that vast, open, unlimited, unbounded, radiant energy, and we began to believe we were just that small decaying face, that funny shaped body, that appears in perpetual decay before us in the mirror every day.  That one belief alone draws a veil over our capacity to be consistently love and loving, and replaces it with anxiety and fear.  Ideas of beauty are transferred from spirit to form.  Little do we realise that form has little beauty next the radiance of spirit, next to the natural radiance of our very being.  

In such a moment love is lost because we are lost to our self, and so the great search begins, the great seeking starts, the hunt for our self and for love commences.  But we look in the wrong direction and settle too easily for what we find.  And what we find is a growing dependency on others attention, others approval and others appreciation, which we mistake for love.  Our spiritual sleepiness, in the form of our ignorance of our self, becomes deeper and we co-create and sustain what largely becomes a loveless world compared to what it could be, some would say compared to what it once was.

And then, one fateful day we awaken to the wisdom that says stop searching for love. Imagine intead what life would be like if you were love itself.  Allow your imagination to run it’s own creative riot and then notice how it becomes real, perhaps in small ways at first.  You may eventually notice how easy and naturual it is to translate this ‘imagination’ into action.  And it’s that easiness that signifies that it’s true.  In reality, in truth, love is realised to be what we are.  It’s the restoration of that truth that sets us free of all our attachments, of all our dependencies, all our cravings and all our neediness.  In that moment you know that love has come home to the place it never left.  Not to the heart of your body but to the heart of your being.  

In that moment your search for one ‘soul mate’ is over.  You now see that all around you are your ‘soul companions’.  Not quite as romantic.  But then what has romance got to do with love?  Answers on a postcard to...!

Question:  As always Clear my writing is not intended to convince you of anything but to encourage and stimulate your own reflections so that you may see what is true for you.  So what for you is true love?

Reflection:  Why is it that as we look out across the world there is such a fequent absence of love between human beings?  

Action:  Generate a conversation this week with three other people around the true meaning of love.