Universal Love

‎”You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” — Buddha

Love is a Many Splendored Thing

When it comes to love
I, at times, ruminate on Rumi:

“The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
they’re in each other all along.”

and, then, there is Tennyson’s oft-quoted line:

“Tis better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.”

which reminds me of a woman of relative high society
I recently met in LA
as we sat on her luxurious living room sofa sipping tea –
with downcast eyes – she said to me:

“I have never really loved anyone, you know, with
the kind of love you read about and see in movies.
I don’t know why.
But yet, I still yearn to love and be loved.”

her voice, lips and eyes held hints of sadness
an inner turmoil bordering on madness

I am thankful she gave me pause to think and see
pause to meditate about loving and being in love
pause to consider the secrets to discovering love
for – such is my luxury of choice in the passage of being

seemingly, long ago, when in high school and afraid to dance
I remember hearing Frank Sinatra sing:
“Love is a Many Splendored Thing”
these lyrics stirred my heart during a new romance
once, while sitting in my car looking into Judy’s pale blue eyes
I turned up the radio and sang along with the song:

“Love is a many splendored thing
It’s the April rose that only grows
In the early Spring
Love is nature’s way of giving
A reason to be living
The golden crown that makes a man a king

“Once on a high and windy hill
In the morning mist two lovers kissed
and the world stood still
Then your fingers touched my silent heart
and taught it how to sing
Yes, true love’s a many splendored thing”

what is love – is it fulfilling one’s defined passion during the journey –
is it a fleeting fantasy – a mirage that evaporates upon
reaching its destination – a superb source of Madison Avenue revenue –
sublimation of primal energies into lustful synergies

is love a ruse of the Muse to abuse

like loving a particular turn of phrase – an unforgettable melody –
a dream – a cliché’ such as “love at first sight” – or, the love of
awakening to embrace the wonder of living another day

I remember once, when I was in great pain on many levels – but yet,
I was curious as to the experience – for pain, I philosophized, may only be felt while you are alive, here, on this plain – therefore,
pain serves as an affirmation of your living manifestation

through the pain – I could still see the profound beauty surrounding me –
beauty imbued with the love flowing through this bewildering creation

so now – if asked about love –
I feel I have gathered some wisdom –
for love “is” a many splendored thing –
limited only by our imagination

William Waterway