Connection Inspirations Love middle ground Mindfulness Steps on the Journey

* Love is a Practice

by Val Boyko
Comments 43

Practice loveAs human beings we all need love, but we rarely talk about what it means to us and how it works. That is why I appreciate how Brene Brown explores what it is in her book “The Gifts of Imperfection”

It took her decades of interviews and research to come up with this definition:

Love 
“Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.

Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged and healed.”

Yet … how many times do we think of love in terms of giving and taking?
How many times have we let ourselves down by failing to nourish and cultivate it?
How can we expect to love an other fully when we cannot love ourselves?

Love is an active verb. There is a profound difference between professing love and practicing it.

Practice love from the heart of your being.

Practice love towards yourself by learning to trust yourself and treating yourself with respect.
Practice  being kind and affectionate towards yourself.

Practice love towards an other by learning to trust and treating them with respect.
Practice being kind and affectionate every day.

❤️

43 comments on “* Love is a Practice”

  1. derrickjknight
    March 26, 2016

    At the moment, I am being blocked from many WP posts, so I can’t access the rest

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. john flanagan
    March 26, 2016

    Happy Easter, Val

    john

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Jill Weatherholt
    March 26, 2016

    Beautiful, Val! Happy Easter. xo

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. vanbytheriver
    March 26, 2016

    Lovely sentiment here, Val. 💕

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Kate Crimmins
    March 26, 2016

    Very inspirational. Have a great weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. nrhatch
    March 26, 2016

    “And still, after all this time,
    The sun never says to the earth,
    “You owe Me.”

    Look what happens with
    A love like that,
    It lights the Whole Sky.”

    ― Hāfez

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  7. kimberlyharding
    March 26, 2016

    Good inspiration for us,Val.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Eliza Waters
    March 26, 2016

    Wise words! Have a great weekend, Val. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Louise Gallagher
    March 26, 2016

    BEautiful words! Beautiful loving action. Thank you VAl. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Jewels
    March 26, 2016

    Thanks for the inspiration Val! My sister recently gave me that book, I haven’t started reading it yet, but I know it’s gonna be a good one. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Rajagopal
    March 26, 2016

    Let me perform an act of love, Val, which is to wish you and yours a very happy Easter.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Val Boyko
      March 26, 2016

      Thank you Raj for sharing the love and including me in your practice. May I reciprocate and wish you a wonderful weekend 💛

      Like

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  12. Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature
    March 26, 2016

    “Practice love from the heart of your being.” A wonderful, wise message. Happy Easter, Val.
    Peace
    Mary

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Paul Handover
    March 26, 2016

    As I have said on numerous occasions, and it wouldn’t surprise me to know that it has been said by me in this place, it all comes down to relationships. And underpinning those relationships with others is the relationship with our self. Learnt that from a very wise person many years ago.

    That is at the heart of, “we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.”

    On first reading it could come across as sicophantic (sp?) but if one thinks of loving oneself as a product of our clearer self-awareness then that can sit more comfortably on our shoulders.

    Brene Brown’s book seems like a book to read!

    Well done, Val.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Carol Ferenc
    March 26, 2016

    Yes, how can we truly love another if we don’t first love ourselves? Sadly, I’ve known people who never grasp this concept.

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  15. David Kanigan
    March 26, 2016

    Working it Val…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. D. Wallace Peach
    March 26, 2016

    I love this, Val. “Love is an active verb.” What a line. I wrote a whole passage in one of my books about the “practice.” That to move beyond “practice” is to say that there is nothing worthy of our effort and devotion. All of life is practice. 🙂

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  18. Marje @ Kyrosmagica
    March 28, 2016

    Happy Easter Val. If only love could be the way for everyone the world would be a much safer and happier place. Practising love daily brings hope.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. suzicate
    March 28, 2016

    It is probably the most beautiful and rewarding thing one can practice!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Pingback: * Love is a Practice — Find Your Middle Ground brothersMurray – brothersmurrayWorld

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