A FORMLESS LOVE, FORMING

Love is greater than us. We do not generate it with words and deeds, or even intentions, but we are continually embraced by it, held in its vastness, no matter what we do, or do not.
We are married, we divorce; we are friends, we are lovers; we break up, we break together; we are born, we die; the field endures.
Nobody has ever given us love; that is the great illusion. We have simply remembered the field in each other's presence, sometimes, recognised eternity in the midst of the everyday, then credited another. Love never came from outside of us; we simply touched our own presence, fell into the love that we are, and cannot not be.
And nobody ever took love away from us; we simply forgot the field, and 'blamed' the other, and looked for love again, feeling its absence, lost in a narrative of 'lost love'. Yet love was there, even in its apparent absence; it was present, even in the loss. It cannot be broken; a wave cannot crush the Ocean.
Do not seek love, do not look for the light, but be it, offer it; the joy of loving another is infinitely greater than the joy of fearfully clinging to another's love, for deep down you know it is only an illusion that what you have always longed for could ever have come from outside of you. You are the One; you have always been the One.
The search ends exactly where it began - in presence.

Imraan’s Shayari (Poetry) from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Ik baat honton tak hai jo aayi nahin
Bas ankhon say hai jhaankti
Tumse kabhi, mujhse kabhi
Kuch lafz hain woh maangti
Jinko pehanke honton tak aa jaaye woh
…Aawaaz ki baahon mein baahein daalke ithlaye woh
Lekin jo yeh ik baat hai
Ahsas hi ahsas hai
Khushboo si hai jaise hawa mein tairti
Khushboo jo be-aawaaz hai
Jiska pata tumko bhi hai
Jiski khabar mujhko bhi hai
Duniya se bhi chupta nahin
Yeh jaane kaisa raaz hai


 There is a matter that has almost come to my lips
This is evident in my eyes
Sometimes from you, sometimes from me
They ask for words
To take their shape and come to my lips
And to be embraced by my voice
But this matter
Is a feeling…only a feeling
Floating in air like fragrance
Fragrance becomes its voice
That you know of
That i know of
It’s not hidden from the world
Don’t know what kind of secret is this

My love is not of this world, she thought.

She was complicated in her simplicity, she knew this.

She was the type of girl that smelled of sandalwood and open fields after a long Summer rain; intoxicating, fresh and simple to take in with a depth that seeped into the very soul. She didn’t need to be saved only to be stood by and loved deeply while she saved herself.

Her heart bled poetry whose tomes were unread none having the eyes to see the words written there. Yet there was a humor in her that danced freely and oh how she loved to laugh.

She was at once a mystical journey into the heart of the Earth and the calm found in the fading light of sunset. She had to be swam so deeply to be understood at all and so few had bothered to even dip in a toe.

Her mystery could never remain silent, this she knew. It came out.
The truth always had a way of doing that. She could never silence the magic that flowed through her or the wild passions that coursed in her veins.

Better to be left for what she was than to be loved for a mask, she thought with a heavy heart.

She wondered sometimes as she stared into the dancing trees if there was anyone on this planet that felt this depth, this longing. Perhaps they were on another planet.
Maybe that’s why she spent so much time searching the stars, looking for a sign of the light shining somewhere for her. Maybe she was looking for a home that she had not yet found.

To be this weird, this wild, with this much heart and this depth; the joker, the goddess, the mystic and the lover.

It pained her sometimes.

Who could dance with this passionate fire, ride the waves of this endless sea, laugh to the depths of their being and choose to embrace all of it openly knowing it was only the beginning.

He would smell of home, she decided, and his skin would feel as familiar as her own.
She didn’t need a mask of perfection only his authenticity with truth etched upon his brow and the glow of real love shining in his eyes.

 She didn’t want some unrealistic ideal only the beating of his heart against hers and a smile etched on their lips, as they traced the ancient love stories on each others' skin.

He would drink her in like it was the most natural thing he had ever done, needing to satisfy an ancient thirst. Feeling the depth of the pull towards her he would open his arms to her mystery, not turn and run.

Without taking a step he would fall deep into the place that he was always meant to be by the side of the type of girl that smelled of sandalwood and open fields after a long Summer rain; intoxicating, fresh air that would fill his lungs all in one easy breathe with a depth that eased him and soothed him to the depths of his soul.

Their love story would be of eternity and yet pulsating in each moment. He would provide her relief and she would give him rest. Together, they would love, laugh and live and then no desire, no dream would remain... together they would BE home.

Man is the most elevated of creatures,
Woman the most sublime of ideals.
God made for man a throne;
for woman an altar.
The throne exalts,
the altar sanctifies.

Man is the brain,
Woman is the heart.
The brain creates light, the heart Love.
Light engenders, Love resurrects.

Because of reason Man is strong,
because of tears Woman is invincible.
Reason is convincing,
tears moving.

Man is capable of all heroism,
Woman of all martyrdom.
Heroism ennobles,
martyrdom sublimates.

Man has supremacy,
Woman, preference.
Supremacy is strength,
preference is the right.

Man is a genius,
Woman, an angel.
Genius is immeasurable,
the angel undefinable.

The aspiration of man is supreme glory,
The aspiration of woman is extreme virtue.
Glory creates all that is great;
virtue, all that is divine.

Man is a code,
Woman a gospel.
A code corrects,
the gospel perfects.

Man thinks,
Woman dreams.
To think is to have a worm in the brain,
to dream is to have a halo on the brow.

Man is an ocean,
Woman a lake.
The ocean has the adorning pearl,
the lake, dazzling poetry.

Man is the flying eagle,
Woman, the singing nightingale.
To fly is to conquer space.
To sing is to conquer the Soul.

Man is a temple,
Woman a shrine.
Before the temple we discover ourselves,
before the shrine we kneel.

In Short Words, Man is Found Where Earth Finishes,
Woman Where Heaven Begins.

~Victor Hugo

A LETTER TO MAGNIFICENT MEN~Christabel Zamor (Inspired by the work of David Deida)

My dear beautiful man,

What I relish from you more than anything is presence. I hunger for you to have the capacity to maintain deep, unwavering eye contact, undistracted by anything in the background.

I crave your deep, resonant voice, and the slow methodical speed of your well thought out words. I yearn for you to breathe each breath with me and guide me to deepen my presence through example.

I am eager for you to stand strong, tall and powerful without figeting or getting restless. I love it when your face is relaxed enough to take me in with or without smiling, but always with deep breaths and a steady gaze.

I love it when your head is held high, your spine is tall, your body looks strong and powerful. I adore it when you can hold me in a tender embrace long enough for me to melt.

I ache for your stability so I can be wild, expressive, and emotional. I want to be able to let go and go crazy with desire, passion, anger or sadness and see you still here and unwavering, just being like an eternal mountain range~ grounded and dependable. I long to feel your ability to stay through discomfort.

I love and adore your power because it is great and ferocious, but only when it is fuelled by protective love instead of anger or the desire to control. I yearn to feel your devotion instead of any agenda to fix, solve, or match my energy.

I want you to be a man so I can be fully what it is to be a woman. I love the strong, distinct flavour of male energy and I want to taste it in you through your passionate dedication to show up.

I need you to desire and cherish my radiance above your own. I need to feel that my beauty brings you into your body and gives meaning to your life. While I love that you feel emotions and I want to know about them, I hope overall you are the force of stability so I don’t need to constantly carry the mantle of strength… that diminishes my feminine light and hurts my spirit.

I love it when the flow of masculine and feminine ebbs back and forth between us both. It feels nice when you can show your strength in softness and I can flow my femininity through action… this feels delicious when we play it together.

What I crave above all is the polarity in whatever dance we explore so we are magnetically drawn together.

Overall, I need you to know that I adore you! When you stand tall in your greatest power, I become the most tender, flowing and open. I want nothing more then to unleash and soften with you. I want nothing more than to trust you fully and give myself totally to you.

BE MY VALENTINE, WORLD

Love is not a feeling.
If love were a feeling,
it would come and go,
like in a great drama.

Love is not a thought.
If love were a thought,
it would have an opposite.
Love is too huge to be contained in thought.

Love is not a belief.
If love were a belief,
you would doubt it.
And who would believe that?

Love is not a state.
If love were a state,
you could enter or leave it.
Or fall out of it. 

Love is not an experience.
If love were an experience,
it would begin and end,
and you would long for its return.

Love is not something you find.
If love were something you found,
you could lose it too,
so you'd have to cling to it for dear life.

Love is simpler, kinder, closer, less dramatic.
Less urgent, more present.
Love is the space in which everything appears.
Every thought, every sensation,
every feeling, pleasurable and painful,
blissful, boring, erotic, gentle and intense,
all are held in love's vast embrace.

Yes, YOU are the space for it all,
spaciously intimate with every breath,
in love with every beat of the heart,
every sound, every smell,
every sensation in the body,
every moment of life.

Feeling like you're in love
or not feeling like you're in love,either way, you are in love
with the bliss and the boredom of existence,
with the certainty and the doubt of it,
with the pleasure and the pain,
with the success and the failure,
with the seeking and the resting,
with every sacred movement
of this astonishing dream-world.

All that can be held, can be lost.
All that you can gain, can be taken away.
All that you can build up, can turn to dust overnight.
All that can be created, can also be destroyed.

Only love remains. Only love.
Not a feeling, not a thought, not a belief,
not a state, not an experience,
not something that you 'have',
not something that you're 'in' or 'out' of,
not something that you 'get' from others
(despite the romantic myths we are sold),
but the endless embrace of all of this.

Love is you. You, before you were named,
before you were even born.
You. You are the One.
The One you have always sought.

The unsilenceable call of the heart.
The cry from deep within.
The fragile silence in the middle of the night.
You will never abandon yourself again.

Be my Valentine, world.

To my sweet wild woman~ Kate Rose

I know why it hasn’t worked out with anyone else.....
you don’t need a man, but a goddamn warrior.
You are the strength of Turkish coffee at sunrise darlin’ and don’t try to pretend that you’re not.
You are one of the wild ones, and no matter how you tried to hide that fact, you can’t be anything other than what you are,......and that’s okay.
You are just as you are supposed to be, magnificently wild in all of your chaotic beauty.
I know you’ve had your heart broken and I know that you don’t understand why it always seems to never work out, but I’ve finally figured it out:
You don’t need a man, you need a goddamn warrior.
It doesn’t matter if this warrior drives a Jeep or a shiny sports car, and it won’t matter if he wears silk or cotton it will not even matter if he works in a high-rise, or on the night shift.
What is going to matter is that when it comes to taking bets on your heart, he is going to be high stakes all the way.
This warrior of yours will crave your strength, and your intensity.
He’s going to look at you and not see something to tame, but something to just fuckin’ admire.
This warrior of yours won’t be someone that you can manipulate or play with as you have in the past, so honey, don’t even try, and trust me, you’re going to love him even more because of it.
Because you aren’t just a woman, you’re a goddamn goddess.
Your fierceness is going to bring him to his knees every single time he looks into your gorgeous eyes, but the difference is, unlike the others, he isn’t going to be scared off.
No, this time, you will have finally met your match because a simple man for you just won’t do.
You need someone to match the fire in your eyes with his own.
Not only that, my little wild thing, but this warrior of yours is going to want to encourage the flames instead of trying to douse them with his own insecurities.
Because for you, a warrior is the only man who will ever live in the wild with you.
He may not have to slay any dragons to earn your love, but he would still walk through fire if it meant seeing that amazing smile that you hold in reserve for only him.
This is the thing, free spirit, this warrior you seek….he’s seeking you too.
For he’s had failed relationships that have left him wondering if maybe he was meant to be alone for the rest of his journey and you’re going to change all of that for him.
You both have been traveling along on your separate journeys and have been doing an okay job at it, but that about to change too.
Because baby, when you and this warrior of yours meet and collide, it’s going to be a love set on fire.
Don’t try to run this time
I know your heart has been broken before, and that you’re not used to things working out, but this time it’s different.
Give yourself time to see that.
This warrior of yours needs to see that it’s possible for someone to see all of his wild, and still be there when he craves his freedom and ventures off into this world for a bit.
You won’t always need to follow him, just as he won’t always follow you.
Let yourself stay wild, even when all you want to do is curl up in that spot along his side and forget the rest of the world exists.
Let yourself still wander naked under the full moon, and drink moonshine with the stars.
Let yourself feel the pull of the wind on your heart, and the sun toward a new journey.
Because this warrior is going to love you because of your wild and he’ll want you to keep it.
You’ll be in this together now,
this amazing, crazy, chaotic, wonderfully heartbreaking life, because it takes a warrior to love a goddess.
And it takes a goddess to show a warrior what real love is.
So pack up your insecurities and your ideas about picket fences, because that was never you anyway. You were born knowing that you were destined for more, and now is the time for you to see what all those dreams look like.
There is no stopping a love like this, so promise me you’ll hold out just a little bit longer.
Have a little bit of hope, and always give love just one more try, because I promise you my sweet wild woman......
the love that you seek is seeking you as well.

Someone...

Someone to wake up to. To share the weather with, then the coffee.

Someone to dream with—to plan and scheme and then celebrate with.
Someone to win with, and someone to lose with.
Someone to care for and protect—and to let go of and watch fly.
Someone to stare at in wonder, and to think, “That heart loves mine.”
Someone to talk long with under stars on frosty nights. To giggle through scarves and gloves and hats with, and to kiss under mistletoe.
Someone to hold. Someone to be held by. To be treasured by a treasure.
Someone to notice birds with. To catch flashes of blue and green and purple and brown—and to feel the excitement of soaring little wonders. To see life as it is, not as it seems.
Someone to sit with and watch children, perhaps our own, and to laugh in their innocence and swell at our luck.
Someone to forget with.
Someone to cook with. To sweep mud off the floor. Someone to make magic out of mundane with and smile because it’s with each other.
Someone to cry with. To share rivers of grief indistinguishable from the other. To hold and to hug, and to help and to heal.
Someone to hold hands with. To glance at, fingers intertwined beneath coffee tables, and hearts blurring between eyes.
Someone to lay with with, nothing in between. To be everything holy and exist in a dream. To be naked to our souls and give everything unseen.
Someone to trust. To tell darkest secrets to and reveal hungry fears. Someone to know all of themselves and to want to see more. Someone whose eyes reflect what’s in ours.
Someone to walk with. To travel with. To find pockets of magic in grey city dullness. To drive miles and miles just for that “mile” that’s ours.
Someone to smile with. A deep knowing grin that says, “I see you” and “I’m staying.”
Someone to miss, even for a minute—until they return, and it feels like home again.
Someone to stare at for moments unending.
Someone to love.

A soul connection is a resonance between two people who respond to the essential beauty of each other's individual natures, behind their facades, and who connect on this deeper level. This kind of mutual recognition provides the catalyst for a potent alchemy. It is a sacred alliance whose purpose is to help both partners discover and realize their deepest potentials.
While a heart connection lets us appreciate those we love just as they are, a soul connection opens up a further dimension ~~ seeing and loving them for who they could be, and for who we could become under their influence. This means recognizing that we both have an important part to play in helping each other become more fully who we are.
A soul connection not only inspires us to expand, but also forces us to confront whatever stands in the way of that expansion.

The more two people open to each other, the more this wide-openness also brings to the surface all the obstacles to it: their deepest, darkest wounds, their desperation and mistrust, and their rawest emotional trigger points.
Just as the sun's warmth causes clouds to arise by prompting the earth to release its moisture, so love's pure openness activates the thick clouds of our emotional wounding, the tight places where we are shut down, where we live in fear and resist love. The light of unconditional love awakens the dormant seed potentials of the soul, helping them ripen, blossom, and bear fruit, allowing us to bring forth the unique gifts that are ours to offer in this life.

we just love.

Sometimes there are no words. Words simply do not come. Sometimes we cannot find words to convey the depths of which we feel. That's okay. It's okay to just be in a raw feeling place, and not know when or if words will come to express.
We can just feel the depth of life, the depth of our humanity, the depth of this journey in human form. We can navigate the silent wondering, the unfathomable unknown -- by slowing and deepening the breath, and sending love from our hearts to all points seen and unseen, and known and unknown in the Universe.
May that love penetrate the most open, soft, permeable, and pliable, to the most closed, dense, and seemingly fierce immovable forces in all of existence. May that love be a light of courage and conviction for us to keep walking the path...especially through those times where we cannot see where it will lead. Each breath, each step -- a reminder to wake up from our slumber of suffering. In our stillness and silence, all is included, and without words -- we just love.

I can only see in me what I can see in you,

I can only see in me what I can see in you,
I can only believe about me, what I can believe about you,
I can only love in me what I can love in you,
I can only celebrate in me what I can celebrate in you.

When I tear you down - I tear me down,
When I put you down - I put me down,
When I assault you with words - I assault me with words,
When I withhold love from you, I withhold love from me.
It seems we appear to look 'out there,'
And see this world that is really happening 'in here,'
We can make it about 'that' or realize its about 'this.'
Either way - life will show us again and again
until we see it ... Clearly.
Love is always pointing back to love.

Understanding Giving...

When we give with a need to receive we set ourselves up for disappointment. And "need to receive" reflects the lack of self love and a sense of unworthiness.And as we begin to drop this emotional need we begin to drop our expectations of how others should be and see them more truly, sooner. Then we stop doing for others just to make them happy or approve of us and start ensuring that we are happy first.

When I am happy with myself it becomes very easy to open to the gifts that life and other people bring. This happens in unexpected and delightfully surprising ways, It happens often in very small ways that were always there but we did not have the eyes to see them because we were blinded by our need to "get back".If I give, I give because it makes me happy. Whether another acknowledges the receipt or not it makes no difference to my pleasure in that moment. There maybe a genuine recognition later and that is a bonus. 

So perhaps we could say that "give and take" is not the best basis for relationship. Give and receive is much better. And if I give to you and you just keep taking you will not be seeing the truth of my gift and that will be about you, not me.And if I keep giving wanting to receive your acknowledgement of me but you cannot "see" because you are "self engrossed" then for me to keep "giving" my "gift" is like throwing my self worth away.

You know. we get signals of how others are willing or not to receive very early in our meetings with them. Decide what you are prepared to give based on your feelings of your own empowerment not on your need for another to show you what a wonderful person you are.

We all want to be loved, appreciated, and truly acknowledged. It is at the base of human nature. And it will happen for us all as we move further and further into Unity Consciousness and we meet and start to live with our huge Soul Family.

But in the meantime we are each learning to take our own power and above all truly Love being who we are and experiencing the power of our own Heartfelt loving. Discernment and clarity are big keys. Learn to give first to yourself, to give yourself the gifts of freedom and self expression, of love and total respect, of connection and gratitude for that connection.

Then you will see much clearer to be able to give to others without reacting and with some expectation of your rights, and the need to “take”. In other words you will be more open to receive the gifts hidden in everything that happens to you. And you will be able to see the amazing beauty of the whole conversation that the Universe (reflected through the events that are happening to you) is having with you. In other words you will be open to Receiving rather than “taking” (or ‘making it happen)

Finally as you do all this you stop experiencing betrayal because your actions are not based on the other’s response but on you creating the feelings you wish to experience. In doing this you get very quick at discerning what to give others. You especially get to know, through your honesty and your heart knowing, when it is time to back off (with a loving smile, at least to yourself), and to perhaps move on. You learn not to give less but to expect only what another is willing to give freely and unsought, and waste no more time with unreal expectations of the other being there to fulfill your needs. To be in nonjudgement and in acceptance of what is.

Love yourself sweet Masters, and then it not only becomes easy to love others but you will attract those who are also learning to be at home with themselves. And thus you will be served with ones who are open to love you.

You are willing to give your heart to others and to this world, for you are seeing that this is why you have come here.

You wondered if as you healed, if as you awakened, you would feel less. But you are seeing that love continues to ask you to feel more. There was an idea that as your heart opened, you would be less vulnerable, less naked, and less exposed – but you are more raw and tender now than you’ve ever been. 

You wondered if as you transformed and stepped fully into the here and now, you would be more detached, not care quite so much, and rest as the ‘witness’ of your life from beyond it all. But, alas, you care so much you are burning up inside. 

You know that things will never be the same, but you still don’t know what is coming next or even where you are, or what is truly being asked of you. This unknowing groundless ground is your home now, and the intelligence and creativity here can feel unbearable. You are being guided by the unseen, the unheard, and the unknown, but this guidance is occurring outside the dense environment of the mind. You are unable any longer to find any sort of reference point from which to orient. 

Look carefully. Stay very close. For this is a sacred disorientation.
The colors, the fragrances, and the sounds of the phenomenal world – it is almost too much. The purples, the blues, the rose, and the birdsong – they have arrived from the other world. It feels like if you allowed the beloved fully inside you that you would fall to the ground in pure astonishment. Yet you long for him or her to fill you. 

As you look up into the morning sky – or into the vastness of dusk – you can’t help but notice that things are colored by a certain tinge of sadness. But this is not the sadness of the mind where something is missing. It is a sadness which is pouring out of your overflowing heart. This sadness is your only yoga now. You are willing to give your heart to others and to this world, for you are seeing that this is why you have come here.
Somehow, by some outrageous grace… the dream of postponement has come to an end. You are here. Now.

A lovely read! May everyone feel this love and connection and so it is!

Dear Soulmate, I have always loved you.

Many may find this strange.
But those who have experienced it will understand completely.
You see, I’ve always loved you.
Always.
Way before I knew you, before you even thought of me and before I even thought of you, I already knew you.
And when I saw you for the very first time, I recognized you instantly.
I puzzled for a while, questioning where I’d saw your face and slowly it came to me.
You were with me all along.
Every small footstep, each long and winding road, every mountain I struggled to climb, was synchronized with each path you were taking.
Though at the time my mind was not alert and I did not pay attention, as I was concentrating on surviving each day—I can see now that nothing was ever in vain.
I will never forget the first words you spoke to me and how your voice resonated deeply inside my chest.
I thought my heart would break through to get to you, but we’d only just met—have patience, sweet organ, I know you’ve been waiting a life time, but, please, beat slowly and keep me calm.
I knew in an instant that I loved you.
I didn’t know whether you drank tea with no sugar, whether you liked honey on your toast or whether you talked sometimes in your sleep.
Neither did I know if this connection would last a moment nor a lifetime, but I did not care, I submerged in how it felt to be in your company, familiar, yet with so much to learn and unravel.
My imagination is wild, but I never dared to believe in someone such as you.
Our electricity connected and you turned me on.
I saw myself for the first time when I looked into your eyes. And you saw us.
You had strengths where I had weaknesses and your weaknesses built up my assets.
You knew me better than I knew myself. You never faltered, you had faith allowed me beyond your surface.
You cracked your heart wide open and you allowed me to freely step in.
We are one and the same, although, so entirely different.
When our fingers met we made our first love right there, without a care for the world, that continued around us.
You touched me in places I never knew existed, I surrendered to your love and I allowed myself to fall.
I gave you everything and you gave me myself in return.
You held out a mirror and I was no longer afraid to look, I could not see me without knowing you first.
Our fragmented pieces smoothly slid firm into place.
You fearlessly drove and you never once doubted our love.
You ran through each bone in my body and then printed your name on my heart.
My veins pulsed wildly when you tenderly showed me your love.
You gave me it all.
And I loved you more.
I had no choice.
There is no reason nor no explanation for love.
You were always the one and I have always loved you.
I waited and you waited and we finally arrived together.

original article here

Rumi... A couplet

Both our sets of eyes became drunk, Utterly intoxicated by the promise of Union. O my God! What is this union of eye to eye?! ~Rumi

I love you and me... Life

When we love with expectations,
we impose ourselves on the other.

Our wants,
our desires,
our pain,
our past,
our thoughts on the way things should be
are imposed on the other.

These things only exist within us,
not in the other,
and they prohibit us from loving freely.

Instead, when we release our expectations
and love freely from our hearts,
we are able to truly enjoy what is.
Who we are.
And who is in front of us.

This kind of love,
free from expectations and desires,
free from ego,
is divine love.

This divine love is naturally within us.
And this is how we experience heaven, indeed.

Fears of being taken advantage of
do not come from a place of love.
If we truly love ourselves,
we will not accept situations that are
not for our highest good.

What we can no longer accept, we can change.

When we come from a place of divine love,
free from expectations and desires,
in a beautiful and fascinating way,
the other responds in a positive way.

The more freely we love, the more life
responds to us in a loving and positive way.

I choose to love you in silence,
for in silence I find no rejection.

I choose to love you in loneliness,
for in loneliness no one owns you but me.

I choose to adore you from a distance,
for distance will shield me from pain.
I choose to kiss you in the wind,
for the wind is gentler than my lips.

I choose to hold you in my dreams,
for in my dreams, you have no end.
~Rumi

You are an ocean, you are an ore.

If you are me and I am you,
What is this separation between you and me?

We are the light of God, we are God‛s mirror.
So why do we struggle with ourselves and with one another?

Why does one light escape from another?
Come, release yourself from this ego.
Live in harmony with everyone;
Be friendly with everyone.
If you are by yourself,
You are only one drop, one speck;
Whereas when you bond and unite with everyone,
You are an ocean, you are an ore.
~ Rumi

Osho : On Love

"A mature person has the integrity to be alone. And when a mature person gives love, he gives without any strings attached to it: he simply gives. And when a mature person gives love, he feels grateful that you have accepted his love, not vice versa. He does not expect you to be thankful for it - no, not at all, he does not even need your thanks. He thanks you for accepting his love.
And when two mature persons are in love, one of the greatest paradoxes of life happens, one of the most beautiful phenomena: they are together and yet tremendously alone, they are together so much so that they are almost one. But their oneness does not destroy their individuality; in fact, it enhances it: they become more individual. Two mature persons in love help each other to become more free. There is no politics involved, no diplomacy, no effort to dominate. How can you dominate the person you love? Just think over it.
Domination is a sort of hatred, anger, enmity. How can you even think of dominating a person you love? You would love to see the person totally free, independent; you will give him more individuality. That's why I call it the greatest paradox: they are together so much so that they are almost one, but still in that oneness they are individuals. Their individualities are not effaced; they have become more enhanced. The other has enriched them as far as their freedom is concerned.
Immature people falling in love destroy each other's freedom, create a bondage, make a prison. Mature persons in love help each other to be free; they help each other to destroy all sorts of bondages. And when love flows with freedom there is beauty. When love flows with dependence there is ugliness.
Remember, freedom is a higher value than love. That's why, in India, the ultimate we call "moksha". Moksha means freedom. Freedom is a higher value than love. So if love is destroying freedom, it is not of worth. Love can be dropped, freedom has to be saved; freedom is a higher value. And without freedom you can never be happy, that is not possible. Freedom is the intrinsic desire of each man, each woman - utter freedom, absolute freedom.
So anything that becomes destructive to freedom, one starts hating it. Don't you hate the man you love? Don't you hate the woman you love? You hate; it is a necessary evil, you have to tolerate it. Because you cannot be alone you have to manage to be with somebody, and you have to adjust to the other's demands. You have to tolerate, you have to bear them.
Love, to be really love, has to be being-love, gift-love. Being-love means a state of love. When you have arrived home, when you have known who you are, then a love arises in your being. Then the fragrance spreads and you can give it to others.
How can you give something which you don't have?
To give it, the first basic requirement is to have it."

Gift by Rabindranath Tagore (A favourite poem)

O my love, what gift of mine
Shall I give you this dawn?
A morning song?
But morning does not last long—
The heat of the sun
Wilts like a flower
And songs that tire
Are done.

O friend, when you come to my gate.
At dusk
What is it you ask?
What shall I bring you?
A light?

A lamp from a secret corner of my silent house?
But will you want to take it with you
Down the crowded street?
Alas,
The wind will blow it out.

Whatever gifts are in my power to give you,
Be they flowers,
Be they gems for your neck
How can they please you
If in time they must surely wither,
Crack,
Lose lustre?
All that my hands can place in yours
Will slip through your fingers
And fall forgotten to the dust
To turn into dust.

Rather,
When you have leisure,
Wander idly through my garden in spring
And let an unknown, hidden flower’s scent startle you
Into sudden wondering—
Let that displaced moment
Be my gift.
Or if, as you peer your way down a shady avenue,
Suddenly, spilled
From the thick gathered tresses of evening
A single shivering fleck of sunset-light stops you,
Turns your daydreams to gold,
Let that light be an innocent
Gift.

Truest treasure is fleeting;
It sparkles for a moment, then goes.
It does not tell its name; its tune
Stops us in our tracks, its dance disappears
At the toss of an anklet
I know no way to it—
No hand, nor word can reach it.
Friend, whatever you take of it,
On your own,
Without asking, without knowing, let that
Be yours.
Anything I can give you is trifling—
Be it a flower, or a song.