What does love have to do with deep inner healing?

Well, Let me tell you a quick story.

Recently I was about to negotiate an agreement and took a moment to see whether I could connect deeply with the person on the other side OR if they would let me connect.

Because they did not want to engage in small talk and quickly desired “to get down to business”, I was reminded to simply listen for what that meant about the agreement I could possibly forge.  So after our first session, I went for a run and had an epiphany I’d like to share that may apply universally.

If you don’t list to podcasts, you need to start and listen to this particular one.

This morning on my run, I listened to Krista Tippet’s 2015 interview of Martin Sheen (link).

Yup, the actor. Never expected what I heard but I wished I had heard it before.

He spoke directly to love and joy. It isn’t about religion but it is about spirituality.

For example, he saw himself at a very young age as an actor on the screen.

“I think all children know at a young age something deeply personal about themselves that is hard to communicate…”

But it was what happened from minute 31:00, that made me really think.

Sheen is asked to talk about “love” – and he says:

“Yeah, the love that I longed for, and I think all of us really long for, is knowing that we are loved.  A knowingness about our being that unites us to all of humanity, to all of the universe.  That despite ourselves, we are loved.  And when you realize that, you begin to look at everyone else and you can see very clearly who in your vision knows they’re loved and who does not. And that makes all the difference.

He isn’t talking about being loved by someone else.

In fact, he acknowledges that the love that he has for his wife of decades is deep and real.    “I’m deeply loved. I am married to one of the great people I’ve known in my life…”

He is talking about a deep inner love- a knowingness love – that is internal – that is linked to the self that never ages. That inner self that we must cultivate.

I think a “knowingness” of love – of ourselves is learnable.

Here is the complete dialogue below:

I think it is important to note a few elements that Sheen adds to help us on our journey – compassion and being of or in service to others.  I agree.  In fact, when we look at Buddha’s teachings – empathy comes from being in service to others.

and

Finally, Sheen leads us to one of the purposes of our endeavor – “experiencing true, personal joy.”  We all go about getting there a different way but when I listened to Sheen’s own words, his humility, and the awareness that it gave him into his self – I felt awe.

In his own words,

Profound for sure.

If not for joy, then what is it all for.  If all we do in life is to teach ourselves to truly know that we are loved AND to find joy (at least more joy than pain), then haven’t we accomplished something truly meaningful for ourselves?

I urge you to listen and to share your comments with me.  I’d love to hear from you.

And please subscribe to my blog.

Best,

G