After the horrible events in Norway and all the rhetoric of hate I've heard this past week, I felt the need to open my heart and pour out love. It is the only way to combat such senseless hate. I thought of my daughter soon to come into this world and prayed that she would never know such hate. That she will not be discriminated against, hated or insulted because of her identity, her faith. We cannot control what others think or do, but we can steer our own thoughts, our own souls. And I realized that the best defense against this fear is love. When people spit out hatred or scorn, you pour out love in response. It is the only way. Love conquers all. And so I wanted to share this wonderful piece of advice I came across in in one of my pregnancy books that has helped me through this journey. This book has nourished my soul and has helped to build the confident, calm, awakened mother I hope to be.
"Being a great and happy parent is a big job and an honorable one. It is a chance to do your part in giving to the world. Right now, you might be up to your ears in diapers, not have had time to take a shower, be unable to find the cordless phone, and you read these words and think, "What? I have to save the world, too? It's too much!" But it's true. The only way this planet will fulfill its destiny toward enlightenment, when love and brotherhood will reign, is if each of us, within ourselves and in our homes, creates a space for love to grow.
Can you take the singular love for your own baby and extend it out to all children? Can we love not just our own child, but love their playmates down the street with a great amount of care, and also ferocity? Can we love the children half a world away who speak in a different language, who worship in a different way the same God who is in us all? We have an unending capacity for love. Love builds on love; the more, the more. That your children may see you and watch you in that infinite, universal love is one of the greatest gifts you can give them."
Wherever you are, whatever your beliefs, I pray that you have a life blessed with love. May our hearts be full of that infinite universal love that extends beyond borders, language, skin colour and religion.
