Greatest

“We are one in the bond of love,
We are one in the bond of love;
We have joined our spirit with the Spirit of God,
We are one in the bond of love.”

I was deeply moved by a recent interview of Stephen Colbert by Anderson Cooper (which can be found on YouTube) and their discussion of grief, loss and their mothers. In it, Mr. Colbert expressed, what I believe, are exceptionally profound insights:

“. . . we’re asked to accept the world God gives us and to accept it with love . . . if God is everywhere and in everything, then the world as it is, is an expression of God’s love—you have to accept it with gratitude because what’s the option . . . this is it, the bravest thing you can do is accept the world as it is . . . it is a gift to exist and with existence comes suffering, there’s no escaping that . . . if you’re grateful for your life, then you have to be grateful for all of it . . .”

His statements along with past and recent moments in my life . . .

. . . my mother, dying, wrapped in mine and my father’s arms–all being, all awareness, totally encompassed in the aliveness of the bond of Love . . .

. . . “I miss you” . . . “I miss you, too, Mom” . . . my three sons—one very close to home, two much farther away . . . no distance, time or space in the bond of Love . . .

. . . serve to remind me the only thing that matters is Love.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13 states it this way,

“But for now, three things last—trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love.”

An awakened heart serves as a prism for Love which shines with infinite possibilities and in infinite manifestations.

For example, my friend Sherry who has endured more than her share of sufferings in this world, but remains one of the most truly joyful people I know . . .

. . . or Ingrid, who has also lived through excruciatingly painful life circumstances while staying genuinely loving through and through . . .

. . . or Mary, the most trusting and faithful soul, amid chronic health issues that would have made me give up long ago.

These women, and many, many other dearly loved beloveds, allow themselves to radiate and point to that which is truly “the greatest” . . . Love.

“Let us sing now, every one,
Let us feel His love begun;
Let us join our hands that the world will know
We are one in the bond of love.”

Otis Skillings “The Bond of Love”

I am so sincerely grateful “for all of it,” I hope you can be too!