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What are you waiting for?
Love: we want it; we need it; and it's totally outside of our control. We can't make someone love us. We can't even make ourselves love some one else — or stop loving them! It seems to just happen or not happen. How can something so central to our lives be so beyond our control or understanding? Because we need love so much, we let ourselves be fooled by imitations. If I own more or have a more important job than most, or am more beautiful or handsome, then people will admire me. That's sort of like love. If I have sex, I have the attention of another person, and I give and receive pleasure. That's sort of like love. If I indulge myself by buying luxuries, or by being meticulous about my diet and exercise, I feel as though I am treating myself well. That's sort of like loving myself. If I overeat or smoke, I am comforted. That's sort of like love. But none of it is love, and the need doesn't go away. Love can't be faked. Because we need love so much, we try to deny it. We separate ourselves from others, telling ourselves that we're superior or inferior -- it doesn't matter which because it's just an excuse anyway. It's an excuse for avoiding the whole problem of love, as though love could just go away without taking some of our humanity with it. We tell ourselves that we don't need other people, but our hearts cringe as we say it. We eat and drink too much, and watch hours of TV to make ourselves less aware of our need for love. We tell ourselves that our work is enough, but we sense ourselves growing hard and cold. Denying our need for love only makes us less able to let love into our lives. Love can't be forgotten. Because we need love so much, we try to force it. We smile when we don't want to. We say "I love you" when we don't mean it. We have sex hoping our hearts will take the hint. We pretend and pretend and pretend. We are afraid of disturbing our relationships because this imitation love is all that we have. Love can't be forced. We try to fake love, forget about love, or force love, but our need for real love doesn't go away. Our strategies only distract us briefly from the problem. What we need is to know without a doubt that we are treasured, valued, and desired. Nothing can substitute for that. Accepting the imitations of love, denying the need, thinking I can force love to exist — all of these interfere with getting the love that I need. Imitations of love distract us from the real problem. Imitations allow us to tell ourselves that we're OK, even though our hearts know differently. As long as we accept imitations, we'll never find the real thing. We need to let ourselves get hungry for love. We need to realize that something absolutely fundamental is missing from our lives. No one is ever going to love you enough to give you complete confidence that you are loved. No one has that much love in them. That's a hard truth, but an important one to learn.
Come my brothers and sisters, come all the children of our land,
come and sit by the village fire as the night closes around us.
Watch the flames push the smoke upward toward Grandfather Sky.
Our hope is deep as we send these, the most silent of prayers to ride
the smoke to the Great Spirit. The drums beat softly……
Sit quietly all my people and hear the sound, hear the crackling of the fire,
the sound of family and friends, sharing their happiness. The warmth we
feel comes from this sharing of love not the fire. Look closely into each
other’s eyes. What do we see?What is it, that is reflected back to us?
We see ourselves in one another and all that which has made
us who you are. The drums beat faster…….
Close your eyes my family, and listen to the wind as it stirs the flames higher.
Listen to the songs of our ancestors. They offer so much, all we need do is
open your hearts to their words. Only when we listen andlearn from their
wisdom can we grow as a people.
The drums beat louder……
Inhale the aromas around you, smell the sage burning, the food cooking
in the pits, the deer hide that we wear the rain in the air and Mother Earth
under our feet. The drums beat shakes the ground like buffalo
running across the prairie………
Taste what has come to our lips. Taste the tears of joy that come from
our eyes. They are the tears of the past, present and the future.
Grandfather Eagle has given us a view of the future, and it is good.
Then we realize it is not the drums that beat so loudly, but our own hearts
coming together as one people under the Great Spirit, in Peace, Love and
Harmony………..Finally.
StrongBearRedHeart ©Copyright 1999
The legend says St. Valentine
Was in a prison cell
Thinking of his little flock
He had always loved so well
And wanting to assure them
Of his friendship and his love
He picked a bunch of violets
And sent them by a dove.
And on the violets' leaves
He pierced these lines divine
That simply said, "I Love You"
And "I'm your Valentine"
So through the years that followed
From that day unto this
Folks still send messages of love
And seal them with a kiss.
Because a Saint in prison
Reached through prison bars one day
And picked a bunch of violets
And sent them out to say
That faith and love can triumph
No matter where you are
For faith and love are greater
Than the strongest prison bar.
I got this off of my friend Native_Boytoy
