What am I learning these days?

There's a lot of grace that comes with being able to understand someone beyond their simplicity, and what's even more awesome is that I am able to understand myself as well. Believe it or not, I used to not understand myself as much as I do now. I've gotta say though, that community is key. I've found community to be one of God's greatest blessings. When there is a community that is willing to give you Love, you begin to wonder.....

I've been reading this book ( If The Buddha Dated by Charlotte Kasl) and I find it very enlightening. So, I want to share it with all of you. I'll post ideas from each chapter that stand out to me the most, or most thought-provoking. Comments and/or discussions are very welcomed.

Chapter 1
Preparation for Love: Walking a path of truth and loving kindness

"On the spiritual path, we enter into a shared union where we cherish and give to each other, expanding our ability to love unconditionally. We would also accept that the process can be awkward, unpredictable, challenging, and surprising."

Loving unconditionally seems to be the hardest thing to do and although I strive to, I sometimes regress back to thinking about reciprocity. I think it's very natural that you would want your Love for someone to be reciprocated, but when you can love without the need for reciprocity, you have achieved something much greater: you are Christ-like. This is how I want to live my life.

"We begin our journey always remembering that there is a circular relationship between our ability to know and love another and our ability to know and love ourselves."

I am beginning to understand how crucial this is to any kind of relationship. I've realized that if I'm not self-loving, then I am not ready to love someone else.

Chapter 2, to be continued...