Close
Close

Receive “Word for the Day” each day in your inbox

See our Privacy Policy

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Menu Gratefulness Donate
Daily Question, November 22

How can I stretch my heart to love bigger? To love more of the world?

  • stephdimares

    to appreciate all the little things and to give meaning to the things that make you feel happy and purposeful. We must see things through a different set of lenses to see that there is so much love for us to give in this world.

  • Mary Pat

    By calming down. Really. I think since Covid started, we are all a bit just “upset”. I think our emotions are running us more than we may admit. Well, I for one have allowed what I call my “high alert!” emotions to control alot of my reactions to people and events. I think taking time to calm myself by meditating, or just breathing deeply, would help. Pausing is an active verb I could use more….and then, I think more love could slip into my everyday world….

  • Mica

    When trying to follow the guidelines of Jill Bolte Taylor’s ‘Whole Brain Living,’ I discovered that the fussy amygdala on the left side of my brain would calm down if I treated her with love. Seeing it from the perspective of chakras, I realize I was moving my feelings from my belly to my heart.
    Compassion is a good emotion to replace judgment, in my experience, such as when I’m feeling judgmental toward others.

    • Beth

      I love this: Compassion is good emotion to replace judgment.

  • Carol
    This daily question immediately made me think of Anthony de Mello’s book, “The Way to Love.” In one of the meditations he asks, “What does it mean to love?” His answer is “…to be sensitive to life, to things, to persons, to feel for everything and everyone to the exclusion of nothing and no one; for exclusion can only be achieved through a hardening of oneself, through closings one’s doors and the moment there is hardening, sensitivity dies.” He says that God’s kingdom is...

    This daily question immediately made me think of Anthony de Mello’s book, “The Way to Love.” In one of the meditations he asks, “What does it mean to love?” His answer is “…to be sensitive to life, to things, to persons, to feel for everything and everyone to the exclusion of nothing and no one; for exclusion can only be achieved through a hardening of oneself, through closings one’s doors and the moment there is hardening, sensitivity dies.”

    He says that God’s kingdom is love and he gives several examples of good heartedness. I share a couple of them. Going out of your way to help a stranger you may never see again or picking up a nail in the road so it will not end up in someone’s tire. He points out that “… it does not matter that you might not know the person who will benefit from your gesture and you will see no reward or recognition. You do it from a feeling of benevolence and kindness” and he explains that we are born with this kind of love but we often allow our beliefs and attachments to block it, to harden our hearts.

    He explains that as soon as you have come to a conclusion about a person or situation or thing, you will see the person, situation, or thing through the eye of your prejudice, you have blocked your ability to be sensitive. That is exactly what I almost did this morning.

    I turned on the TV earlier today and they were reporting that 5 people had died and 48 more were injured while attending a Christmas parade in Wisconsin. Several, to include two children, were in critical condition

    Authorities are holding a 39 year old man who was fleeing in his vehicle from a domestic violence situation where he was apparently the perpetrator. According to the news reports and video recorded by bystanders, he erratically drove right into the Christmas parade hitting parade goers of all ages who had gathered to watch the parade. He finally exited his vehicle and attempting to get away on foot

    According to the news, he apparently has a lengthily rap sheet of criminal activity and violent behavior. I immediately labeled him worthless and decided that my meditation period today would be dedicated to praying for his victims. Then I realized that I needed to pray for him, too. I needed to see him has a child of God. Who am I to decide if he is salvageable? I do think he should be arrested and charged but I do not have the right to label him worthless.

    Read More
  • GregC

    Adding more people during chanting daimoku.

  • Linda

    I feel pulled in so many ways to help friends, family and others, to the point where I am almost immobilized with the enormity of it. It is important to stop, breathe and let the anxiety pass. Then I can move forward again.

    • Mica

      Indeed, Linda, it’s hard to love the world if you’re having a hard time loving yourself! What are the Buddhist meditations/chants that begin with ‘May I be happy’ and then move to ‘May all be happy’?

  • Don Jones

    To consciously look from my centre, which yields self in favour of whatever is before me.

  • dcdeb

    By breathing deeply and focusing on the heart.

  • pkr

    My heart hurts, aches for all the victims in Waukesha, Wis. (my home state). I feel so sad, empty & at a loss for words. I don’t feel “full of love” for all the acts of violence, random acts of hate & fear-mongering everywhere. My heart hurts. It is heavy with sadness. Really don’t know what else to say…….😞

    • Mica

      Oh, dear pkr – it’s hard enough hearing about the latest outcome from your state, even living in a far-away state! Warm wishes to you –

      • pkr

        Thank you dear Mica. Blessings to you & yours.🙏

  • Antoinette

    Let go of it all and open up with compassion!

    • Mica

      I like that, Antoinette – the letting go and the compassion. Thanks –

  • Lauryn

    A lot of times I feel like I’m so focused inward that I don’t have the capacity to expand outwards….this results in me not keeping up with friends, responding to messages or reaching out to others. Im not really sure how to change this —- though I’d like to try to do so. ….baby steps…

  • Maggie
    This is a question I need to think about more. To start, I need and want to volunteer more. I am not giving back to the community as much as I should be. A lot of my love has either been given to my friends or family and I want to start giving it to those not in my community. Those who don't have it as good as me. Also, below I saw a response of someone saying that you need to love yourself first in order to love others and I agree. Right now, I am able to focus on both myself and others because...

    This is a question I need to think about more. To start, I need and want to volunteer more. I am not giving back to the community as much as I should be. A lot of my love has either been given to my friends or family and I want to start giving it to those not in my community. Those who don’t have it as good as me. Also, below I saw a response of someone saying that you need to love yourself first in order to love others and I agree. Right now, I am able to focus on both myself and others because the love I have for myself is strong. So, I want to take this advantage and give more. I just don’t know what my thing is yet. A lot of people have found their organization that they love to volunteer and work for but I don’t know what mine is. I’m going to try to figure it out. Also, before Covid, I loved going to church. I haven’t been back since. I really miss it and I know that going to church made me happy and love others.

    Read More
  • Mark

    By learning to breath from my heart, I can learn to love myself more and the world. By breathing from my heart, I am teaching myself the importance that love has to offer. This helps me to follow my heart and become compassionate towards myself and others. The world needs more love. The world needs more compassion.

  • orozcoj13

    I can stretch my heart to love bigger by being patient and having presence. Doing this allows me to love more of the world because I can experience the world in it’s fundamental states. I can offer gratitude and blessings to those I meet so that they may share with the world their gift of presence.

  • Katrina

    By learning to love yourself fully first.

  • Ed Schulte

    Start by truly appreciating what it means to be “Human BE-ing”. That requires, before loving externally, the ability to Love one’s self as it is …Now…wrapped within a cloak of Gratitude for what IS and will always BE. ..in short Love is ……Acceptance, not Judgement.

  • Holly in Ohio
    Learning and exploring more of the world unknown to me may help me to expand my heart to include more of the world. I think particularly of learning about "peoples" living lives very different from mine, and of learning their perspectives on life, their needs, on their culture, on my culture, and the planet. I have also found that the more I learn about our planet, about microorganisms in the soil, about wildlife and wild plants, the more I wish to preserve it, and the better is my understandin...

    Learning and exploring more of the world unknown to me may help me to expand my heart to include more of the world. I think particularly of learning about “peoples” living lives very different from mine, and of learning their perspectives on life, their needs, on their culture, on my culture, and the planet. I have also found that the more I learn about our planet, about microorganisms in the soil, about wildlife and wild plants, the more I wish to preserve it, and the better is my understanding of how I might help.

    Read More
    • Mica

      Thank you, Holly – I’m remembering the Anthropology course I took as a college requirement long ago. We read little booklets about different cultures. The one written by a member of the culture seemed to take such a kind view of the culture, as opposed to the booklets written by outsiders, which seemed to make the cultures seem rather odd.

      • Holly in Ohio
        Exactly, Mica! I so wish I could remember her name, but I remember a dear lady I met in Iowa in a gazebo. It was a totally random meeting... both of us taking shelter from the heat. Neither of us lived in that place. Both of us moved by the dedication of the gazebo to some young man who had died. She was a grandmother, and a migrant worker. She said she had been to Ohio to pick strawberries. I learned soooooooooooooo much from her in that hour. She deeply touched my soul. Her love of her g...

        Exactly, Mica!

        I so wish I could remember her name, but I remember a dear lady I met in Iowa in a gazebo. It was a totally random meeting… both of us taking shelter from the heat. Neither of us lived in that place. Both of us moved by the dedication of the gazebo to some young man who had died. She was a grandmother, and a migrant worker. She said she had been to Ohio to pick strawberries. I learned soooooooooooooo much from her in that hour. She deeply touched my soul. Her love of her grandchildren and so proud she had and was still working to give her son and grandchildren a full education and a different life from herself and her father before her. And I will never forget her faith in God, Mica… she glowed with love. You can’t get that kind of understanding in an anthropology class. Thank you, Mica, for your insight. It reinforces my resolve to listen better. ❤

        Read More
        • Mica
          Wow, Holly. I'm grateful for my El Salvadorean cleaning woman who is always so upbeat. I'm finally starting to imitate her this week. She says she cleans up every bit of kitchen mess immediately. I've been much sloppier - Cleaning is Work, right? And I don't want to do unnecessary work, do I?? But I'm deciding that doing the work of cleaning up after myself is actually a form of self care. And making my French press coffee, instead of just instant. I was getting lazy, but I've decided that's als...

          Wow, Holly. I’m grateful for my El Salvadorean cleaning woman who is always so upbeat. I’m finally starting to imitate her this week. She says she cleans up every bit of kitchen mess immediately. I’ve been much sloppier – Cleaning is Work, right? And I don’t want to do unnecessary work, do I?? But I’m deciding that doing the work of cleaning up after myself is actually a form of self care. And making my French press coffee, instead of just instant. I was getting lazy, but I’ve decided that’s also work that is a form of self care.

          Read More
  • Ose

    When seeing someone very ill and living alone, offer to go shopping, to get medicine or bring a soup. Writing a note to someone in need that I care. Holding someones hand when words do not reach that far. Be there.

  • sunnypatti

    By doing my best to keep an open heart and mind.

  • Javier Visionquest

    To travel would be the most practical. . .

    “Our bodies are synonymous to the planet in the same sense that our minds reflect the world we inhabit. When we understand this connection we will take responsibility for each and heal the whole”

This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A.

DONATE https://gratefulness.org/content/uploads/2015/03/GX-Gold-Participant-L.png

© 2000 - 2022, A Network for Grateful Living

Website by Briteweb

0

Your Cart