Hand

How much do you love when you hold a newborn's hand? How overwhelming, powerful and pure is that feeling? It comes from somewhere sincere, not superficial. It isn't considered, budgeted or logical. It is not from the horizontal plane. 

It shoots through you from deep in your core, restoring your sense of the vertical, the veritable, the vital. Holding a baby's hand reminds you of who you are and how to love. It reconnects you with the essential. 

How much do you love when you hold an old person's hand? Brittle and vulnerable, it carries such gentle power, such wisdom, such grace. It has seen and done so much, helped so many for so long. It has touched lots of lives and survived many trials, yet it remains more tender than ever. 

The feeling overcomes you, cuts away all callousness, gives you great knowing of your true nature along with your frailty. It makes you grateful and reverent. It shows you love. 

How much do you love when you look at your own hands? How old are they? How far have they come? Do they contain elements of a newborn and qualities of an aged body? 

Are they still as sensitive as the pads on a puppy's paw? Do they still hum with life force and beauty? No matter the circumstance, vitality endures like a new morning. Freshness is always in the ether. 

You are worthy of your true love. 

We forget how to live and who we are, as the worldly tries to swallow us up every day. When we do have glimpses, we still find it easier to love others than we do to be true and close to ourselves. We have hands and hearts but we lose touch with them, which makes us unwell in the world. 

Loving heals. The way home is to return to love. 

How much do you love when you hold a newborn's hand? How much do you love when you hold an old person's hand?

This is how to love yourself.