All You Need Is Love!
It is fitting that having authored 5 books on the subject of cultivating love, that the first post in this new blog is on the subject of…love.
Per the title, I think the Beatles song by the same name was the first, upbeat and positive message that I can recall that encouraged me to focus on this characteristic, and some 40 years later I am still fascinated by the subject of love and how our lives are changed by the presence or absence of this necessary trait.
My studies and readings have helped me to see that Love has many different “faces” or ways that we see and experience it, but I have found that the best way to understand and deliver love in a healthy manner for my benefit and for the benefit of others is to grow and practice the behavioral characteristics of Love, which are Esteem, Respect, Honor, Favor, Acceptance, Cherishing, “Prizing,” Relishing and being Devoted to another. I have found that the practice of these characteristics brings me much joy and peace in my life, and tends to help me to have really good encounters with others.
I have also found that my understanding of what Love is tends to become heightened and strengthened when I maintain a conscious contact with my God. I maintain my contact with God through prayer, reading, reflection, study and meditation regarding how God defines love and helps me to grow/give love to myself, then directs me in providing healthy expressions of love to others. God also helps me to be patient with myself and with others when the best of my thinking doesn’t quite create the loving outcomes that I would like to create and facilitate.
So how about you? How do you define love? What motivates you to do loving things for yourself and for others? How does your relationship with God help you to grow and deliver love to others? How do you think you and others in your life could be different if you practiced loving behaviors on a consistent basis? What response do you think you would experience and get if you told someone that you loved them today?
The Beatles song (and others) is playing in my head. I am inspired and encouraged spiritually to “love others” as I listen to it. Is there a song that you heard a long time ago (or recently) that could inspire you, brighten your day and subsequently spur you on to engaging in loving behaviors? As time permits, let me encourage you to listen to it and let your spirit guide you into experiencing and delivering some loving behaviors.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
TeleHealth/Video counseling sessions are available for those who prefer to meet online – Dr. McGill
Three to five for Twenty-Four 
Thank you Ken, great reminder!
Kindly,
Mari A. Lee, LMFT, CSAT-S
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Thank Ken! Love you blog. I like ‘Into the Mystic’ by Van Morrison to remind me of the eternity of love within our finite limitation and ‘Ronan’ by Taylor Swift in memory of Ronan Thompson to remember that every moment of love counts! All good things!
Helen Thomas
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