Thirteen
DESTINY:
WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning
of life by ourselves alone-we fin d it with another.
- THOMA SMERTON
Twelve
HEALING:
REDEMPTIVE LOVE
We have been brought into the inner wine cellar and
sealed with His seal, which is to suffer out of love.
The ardor of this love greatly outweighs any suffering
we may undergo, for suffering comes to an end, but
love is forever.
- TESSA BIEL ECKI
Eleven
LOSS:
LOVING INTO LIFE AND DEATH
You have to trust that every frie ndship has no end,
that a communion of saints exists among all those,
living and dead, who have truly loved God and one
another. You know from experience how real this is.
Those you have loved deeply and who have died live
on in you, not just as memories but as real presences.
- HENRI NOUWEN
Ten
ROMANCE:
SWEET LOVE
Sweet Love say
Where, how and when
What do YO Ll want of me? ..
Y OLlrs [ am, for Y OLl I was born:
What do YOLl wa nt of me ? . .
-SAINT TERESA OF AVILA
Nine
MUTUALITY:
THE HEART OF LOVE
True giving is a thoroughly joyous thing to do. We
experience happiness when we form the intention to
give, in the actual act of giving, and in the recollection
of the fact that we have given. Generosity is a cele-
bration. When we give something to someone we feel
connected to them, and our commitment to the path
of peace and awareness deepens.
- S HA RON SALZ BE RG
Eight
COMMUNITY:
LOVING COMMUNION
Community cannot take root in a divided life. Long
before community assumes external shape and form,
it must be present as a seed in the undivided self:
only as we are in communion with ourselves can we
find community with others.
- PARK ER PA LMER
Seven
GREED:
SIMPLY LOVE
The fading away of greed and hatred is the founda-
tion fo r liberation. Liberation is "the sure heart's
re lease" -an understanding of the truth so powerful
that there is no turning back from it.
-SHARON SA LZBE RG
Six
VALUES:
LIVING BY A LOVE ETHIC
We must live for the day, and work for the day, when
human society realigns itself with the radical love of
God. In a truly democratic paradigm, there is no Jove
of power for power's sake.
- MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
Fi ve
SPIRITUALITY:
DIVINE LOVE
As a woman and a lover, however, I am moved by
the sight of my Beloved. Where He is, I want to be.
What He suffers, I want to share. Who He is, I want
to be: crucified for love.
- SAINT TERESA OF AVILA
Four
COMMITMENT:
LET LOVE BE LOVE IN ME
Commitment is inherent in any genuinely loving re-
lationship. Anyone who is truly concerned for the
spiritual growth of another knows, consciously or in-
stinctively, that he or she can significantly foster that
growth only through a relationship of constancy.
- M. SCOTT PECK
Three
HONESTY:
BE TRUE TO LOVE
When we reveal ourselves to our partner and find that
this brings healing rather than harm, we make an im-
portant discovery-that intimate relationship can
provide a sanctuary from the world of facades, a sa-
cred space where we can be ourselves, as we are .. . .
This kind of unmasking-speaking our truth, sharing
our inner struggles, and revealing our raw edges- is
sacred activity, which allows two souls to meet and
touch more deeply.
- JOHN WELWOOD
Two
JUSTICE:
CHILDHOOD LOVE LESSONS
Severe separations in early life leave emotional scars
on the brain because they assault the essential human
connection: The [parent-child] bond which teaches us
that we are lovable. The [parent-child] bond which
teaches us how to love. We cannot be whole human
beings- indeed, we may find it hard to be human-
without the sustenance of this first attachment.
- JUDITH VIORST
One
CLARITY:
GIVE LOVE WORDS
As a society we are embarrassed by love. We treat it
as if it were an obscenity. We reluctantly admit to it.
Even saying the word makes us stumble and blush ...
Love is the most important thing in our lives, a pas-
sion for which we would fight or die, and yet we're
reluctant to linger over its names. Without a supple
vocabulary, we can't even talk or think about it
directly.
- DIANE ACKERMAN
Introduction
GRACE:
TOUCHED BY LOVE
It is possible to speak with our heart directly. Most
ancient cultures know this. We can actually converse
with our heart as if it were a good friend. In modern
life we have become so busy with our daily affairs and
thoughts that we have lost this essential art of taking
time to converse with our heart.
- JACK KORNFIELD
