Loving

 

To hear the voice of God in the cries of the suffering.

Thomas Keating

 

Late in his long life the beloved and wise Benedictine monk Thomas Keating was asked, “What is the purpose of life?” With an open tender smile he responded, “Love”.  For Keating and other wisdom teachers who are far along on the spiritual path, this is the kind of open, tender, and compassionate love that we give generously and unconditionally to ourselves and others.  It is love without an agenda or purpose beyond its giving. It is without ego, grasping, or will.  It comes from an inner taproot that draws from the infinite source of divine love which flows through us, gives us life, and is the ground of our being.

 

I am hardly capable of giving this kind of love. I struggle, as we all do, with small-mindedness, so much fear, and the smallest irritations that nonetheless chafe me raw.  And yet, there are slivers of the immensity of God’s love bubbling through me for myself and others, supporting my longing to love more despite my failings, my half-hearted attempts, my awful unfaithfulness.  I am humbled by my incapacity to love more and this gives me compassion for others when I am let down by their loving.  I keep trying despite failure because there is no end goal here but only a sincere willingness to try and a desire to be close to the infinite love flowing through us which we sense when we give it away. And I think that when I am dying to have been able to give even a little more of this love will be a great comfort.