From a reader with an inspired view to share…

Dear Evan,

Because I have so enjoyed your postings, and have shared some of them with patients and family members and friends, I thought I would share with you an inspiration that came to me this morning. I sent it to a prayer group, called “Claim Your Innocence” that prays for missing and abused children. They have now started a fresh project, “100 days of love” which is an effort to get new views of love every day. This is what flooded my thought this morning.

Love,

Melanie Ball

Dear Love Team,

Today, I saw my “burning bush” of Love.

This morning, I dropped my middle school son off and set off to walk and pray. Hiking up a neighborhood hill, I glanced to the right where I saw a man trimming a vine growing on his house. I’ve been dropping off kids at this school for about 10 years, but I had never, ever noticed this vine before. The owner was tenderly and carefully trimming a wall-sized, heart-shaped trumpet vine.

“What a lovely vine, I said. I’ve never noticed it before.”

“I have to trim it very often,” he replied, “to help it keep its shape.”

After expressing my delight in his efforts and the results, I continued on my way, thinking of the lesson I could learn from this “vine of love.”

At first, I began to see love everywhere, bathing all in warmth and light – love of home, love of activity, love of beauty, love of order, love of intelligence, love of family, etc. It was a joy to walk along seeing love expressed in everyone and everything!

Then, further along my way, I began to think of some of the “pruning” that needs to be done in order to keep love “in good shape.” Wow! I thought of pruning away: hard-heartedness, personal sense, possession, resentment, selfishness, jealousy, domination, fear, and sensuousness. The pruning activity went forward, in my consciousness, as I “treated” all who came to thought, seeing them in the light of love; pure and Godlike.

Finally, in the last mile or so, I went up higher … I began to see before me not just the love that is of the human heart, but the beauty of Love-God, Love’s Principle, Love’s safe haven – home, Love’s family, Love’s strength and stamina, Love’s painless being, Love’s love. The world around me and all my eyes rested upon was radiant with Love’s glow. What a holy experience!

So, today and every day, I will strive to “prune” my concept and expression of love, so that I may see Love everywhere.