We’ve all heard the phrase “Love Heals.” Is this true? What does it mean, really?
Let’s start with a definition of love. I think of love as a combination of two things. One is an attitude of reverence for Life. This attitude then inspires actions to nurture Life—our lives, the lives of others, and all of Life. So love is reverence-inspired actions to enhance Life. This would include any acts to heal our wounds. In fact, to act to heal ourselves or someone else is one of the many ways of loving.
So how might love heal?
First, love heals when others have reverence for us. Reverence from others helps heal our damaged reverence for ourselves. When others affirm us, it helps us affirm ourselves. When others have hope for us, it helps us have hope for ourselves. When others offer us the opportunity for safe, loving connection, it fulfills our deep need for loving connection. Loving connection is profoundly healing.
Second, love heals when others help us. When a doctor gives us healing medications, that is love. When a therapist helps us work through our trauma, that is love. When someone gives us needed guidance, that his love. The help of others helps us to heal.
Third, love heals when we help ourselves. We do this by taking very good care of ourselves and protecting ourselves from harm. To heal, we need to be our own ideal parents. We need to do what we can to heal our wounds and optimize our vitality.
Fourth, love heals when we love others. Loving others brings a fulfillment that fills the emptiness within and makes us whole. When we transcend egoic gratification and live for the fulfillment of loving, we experience a healing of our brokenness and a restoration of wholeness.
How do we then access the healing power of love? No matter how wounded we are, we need to see that there is hope. There is a better way. That way is the way of love. Then we need to stop hurting ourselves and instead start taking very good care of ourselves. We also need to surround ourselves with safe, loving people and humbly allow them to help us and listen to their guidance. There is an abundance of love and grace surrounding us if we only open ourselves up to it. This takes courage, hope, faith, and discernment, especially when we have been hurt before. Then we need to dedicate our lives to the practice of love. It is in loving ourselves and others that we ultimately heal.
We inspire our dedication to a life of love by cultivating our reverence for Life. In addition to the above, we cultivate our reverence through the practices of stillness and mindfulness. Stillness practices include prayer and meditation. We also cultivate reverence by exposing ourselves to nature and to beauty. Reverence arises when we connect with the innate wonder and awe of existence. We wake up to the miracle that is right before our eyes.
It is true that love heals. May you open yourself to the love of others and combine this with your own dedication to the practice of love. You will find in doing so that love heals even the deepest of wounds.
