Unconditional

Daily Meditation 555–9/3/2023

I have an older friend who’s been married many, many years.

Their spouse has Parkinson's, which of course means the tremors, some speaking troubles, and so on.

But despite that, they love their spouse and still look at them with the glow of love they’ve had for decades. Rubbing their shoulders, pulling them near.

Isn’t that beautiful?

Many people “swear off” love, insisting they don’t want to be hurt. They put up walls. “I’m protecting my heart,” they insist.

As they do this, they continue to age.

They don’t want to risk hurting someone else, or someone else hurting them — those they’ve fallen in love with becoming mortally ill or diseased, such as this…
The thought of pain and loss bothers them, so they just don’t settle down.

But one day, you’ll lose friends. Family. Loved ones…

Your time alone is good for you, certainly. Seeking a deep understanding of the self is truly essential.

But man is not meant for solitary life.

We’re meant to love and be loved.

We’re meant to experience heartache and loss, and those deep wounds inform us. They make us wise.

But the other side of that coin — the larger share — is that we’re meant to experience laughter, love, intimacy, care, and joy.

So sure, my friend may experience moments of pain with their ill spouse…
But I know for certain, they have far more many decades of great memories, and that is worth all the toll that suffering may inflict.

You live but once. Suffering is fleeting.
Love, however, lasts.

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These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”