"You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so, you learn to love by loving."

                                                                                          ~ Saint Francis de Sales  

This touchstone reminds me of something my husband and I heard and learned on a Marriage Encounter weekend: Love is a decision.

It seems to me that the two quotes go hand-in-hand.

Want to be in love? Then, love. Practice loving everyday. It is like speaking, studying, running, working, and knitting, golfing, writing, playing the piano... You name it.  We learn by doing.

And it all starts with a decision to do it.

When I said above that my husband and I learned "Love is a decision," the truth is we only began to learn it back then. We are still learning. Aren't we all? 

Let's focus on loving today. Let's first decide to love. Love ourselves. Love life. Love our parents, siblings, spouses, children, co-workers, neighbors, everyone who triggers us. Love our homes, our pets, our work, our dreams, our messes... the ones in drawers, closets, the basement as well as the messes we see on the planet right now. Love it all, with compassion.

Love heals, as the Buddha said. Yes, let's practice loving today so we can get better at it.  

Toward healing and peace, 
Charlene

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LOVE: It will grow each time you give it away. (from The Twelve Gifts of Birth)

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(c) 2012 Charlene Costanzo 

Charlene Costanzo is the author of  The Twelve Gifts series of books:
The Twelve Gifts of Birth
The Twelve Gifts for Healing
The Twelve Gifts in Marriage
The Thirteenth Gift 
Touchstones: Stories for Living The Twelve Gifts 

August 3, 2014

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