Fine, let's START with love.

reply to post by Itisnowagain


You are so right.

Love is something you give away for free - and not expect something back in return.

You have to be in a place where you can do that - or it's just a "bargain" that you're giving - not really "giving".

I would have to say that one has to look at forgiveness - which is much, much harder than just "handing out love."

That's a whole lot of hard to just start handing out. Free of charge.

reply to post by Happy1


BUT, none of us is perfect - and in much need of forgiveness from a whole lot of people we've encountered in our lives. Even for simple things - like getting mad at someone, even though you were mad at something else?

reply to post by Happy1

The feeling of lack drives one to fill up - this is greediness and neediness - it is not love.
Until one ceases to feel lack one will never know love.
Here is an amazing video exploring the idea of lack - because lack is something that is assumed - it is not real and when this is discovered life may become lighter and more joyful.

Originally posted by Happy1
Love is something you give away for free - and not expect something back in return.

Love is what this is when there is no thought of anything else.
The unconditioned is prior to conception.

reply to post by Akragon

You fantasize about starting a family with this person and living happily ever after.

You're confusing love with lust.

How does living happily ever after become lustful?

Jealousy and envy are not qualities of love...

You might have missed the point. In this imaginary world, we started with love, but the people are normal. We must figure out how to keep that love going despite of our other emotions.

reply to post by TrueBrit

Mankind has always survived by way of its bi-polar nature. Peace and aggression, love and hate, joy and sorrow. Take away either thing, and it all falls down, a house of cards without foundation, a helicopter which suddenly finds itself rotorless, and at the cruel mercy of gravity.

Well said.

There can't be a world of all love all the time.

Originally posted by PurpleVortex
Love doesn't have a place in your thread.

It's more survival of the fittest...with the examples your provided.

Even getting the girl you want is a competition when one or more men want the same women. Who ever resembles a leader, protector and provider gets nominated.

These are good points. So, when these love-wishers claim that all the problems of the world would vanish if everyone's hearts were filled with love, what do they mean?

reply to post by Akragon

And lets keep in mind we're talking about an ideal world... Not this pathetic excuse for a world

No, no, we ARE talking about this pathetic world. We just gave it a start of love. Everything in our nature is still there. We still have the ability to hate, to be greedy, to lust... We're just starting with love to see if it can be maintained. And of course the answer is no. Love can't fix everything in this human world. Love is not the answer.

It becomes an easy life when you're surrounded by everyone practicing unconditional love for all beings,

reply to post by Damsel


How do we, as emotional beings, practice unconditional love? It's not in our human nature.

Originally posted by smithjustinb
An all love utopia would be great.

But, you do know that it's impossible, right? More often than not, what we humans call altruistic love is enabling others to remain dysfunctional. Love is never mean or given to make the hard choices that life demands. These love-wishers are thinking of people with permanent silly smiles on their faces and going around saying to everyone, peace brother.

I'm sure are there threads that attempt to dissect just what love is. And, I'll bet there are more differing opinions than those that agree.

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by PurpleVortex
Love doesn't have a place in your thread.

It's more survival of the fittest...with the examples your provided.

Even getting the girl you want is a competition when one or more men want the same women. Who ever resembles a leader, protector and provider gets nominated.

These are good points. So, when these love-wishers claim that all the problems of the world would vanish if everyone's hearts were filled with love, what do they mean?

If your heart was filled with love you would have no problems.

Love you Jigger

Cody

Originally posted by jiggerj
Ugh! So many times here I have read how people want to spread the love. They want all of us to BE love. They want a whole world of nothing but love.

I want peoples' brains to create the good stuff 24/7 too. But if only mine does that's ok too however I still want other peoples' brains to do that and if it doesn't I feel compelled to do something depending on the subject. Now I can deal with negativity or always learning since there still seems to be new or unknown forms of negativity to me I must adapt to. I just wish I wouldn't need to go through all the trouble of learning and people just ooze positivity like you say. I would want to change others so I don't need to adapt myself but that is ofcourse a taboo.

Okay, you win! Let's imagine that every person on the planet oozes, gushes, and pukes up love every minute of every day. Now, how do we KEEP the world in this loving euphoria?

I would say we recycle it, take it all in again and then ooze, gush and puke it out again. Then we would all see this substance for what it truly is.

You haven't had a job in two years. Your wife and 2 kids are depending on you to get this job you've applied for. Sitting next to you in the office is someone with 3 kids and hasn't had a job in five years. Are you just going to get up and leave so he can get the job, or will you think, "Screw you, buddy. I have a family too. I'm taking that job!"

The missing factor is the government who by now should have made entire server parks with software where you the user are assigned several jobs. Those positions too far away come with resettlement plans for easy moving. Tax could be in this way considered something good and become a legitimate reason to feel happy about yourself like charity.

You are introduced to someone that makes your heart pound.

That should be used as a loyalty test. If she wanted to go with him, chances are she would have left later during the marriage anyway.

You have a sibling a year older than you. This sibling, however, seems to have been born with natural abilities far exceeding yours. This sibling is better at sports, better in school, better at making friends... How long before your love of this sibling gets reduced to envy, or downright hatred. You know it's not his fault that he was born this way, but how do you keep the love? Or, if you are a parent of these two, how do you help your youngest maintain the love?

That's funny because I can relate having an older brother with a 'better' diploma though I was never jealous mostly because I was just too distracted by the things going on in my own life. I just didn't want the things my brother wanted, didn't need it. In the parents' case love would be having patience.

reply to post by jiggerj


The individual (the divided one) will never know love - the individual is always looking for it.
The individual seeks to be fulfilled - it will not feel right until it realizes that it is emptiness and then that emptiness is filled with what already is.

Originally posted by mrwupy
Truth is a lie. I know that sounds contradictory, but it’s the truth.

Hmmmm....? So it is, or it isn't? Please be clearer in logic as this is just cyclical.

Love solves all but hate is very contagious and easier to do

Originally posted by makaveli3601
Love solves all but hate is very contagious and easier to do

Love damn near killed me

Love for another that is, Then I discovered I quite like me.
Cody

reply to post by Damsel

It becomes an easy life when you're surrounded by everyone practicing unconditional love for all beings, but until we get there,

That's just it. We won't ever get there. This isn't being negative, it's understanding the complexity of emotions that the human animal experiences. And once we understand this, we can no longer deny the human aspect of reality. Or rather, we come to fully comprehend WHY unconditional will not ever rule the world of men.

Originally posted by jiggerj

How many times in life would you step aside out of love for a friend or a sister or brother?

Well, to be honest, this scenario you presented here is one I've actually done 4-5 times in my life. I'm the type of person who cares more about his friends/family than I do myself, and I would much rather see them happy before me. It actually brings me joy when they're happy.

Best example is 2 friends of mine. Boy & girl. We grew up together in our early teen years, and have been friends ever since. I had a huge crush on the girl. Flirted, acted all "white knight" and proper. I didn't realize until after awhile, that the two were already dating. They were just keeping it a secret, because they were afraid their parents would separate them(especially since parents were getting close). Once I found out they were a couple, I stopped all advances.

Couple years later, the male went to college, met a girl, and unfortunately broke the other girls heart. So she and I hung out a lot, became closer friends, all that stuff. I know she was interested in me, another female friend of ours even told me so. I started once again making advances. I never lost my interest. One night at a hot springs, we had a chance to get very close, but right before it happened, I stopped myself. Why? Because of my male friend at college. He made a bad choice, the girl he was with was psychotic, and making his life hell. I knew he still loved this girl I was with, and that even though she was interested in me, she still cared for him. So I backed off again.

After another year or so, they eventually got back together, finished college together, got married, bought a house, and are living pretty happily together. I'm really glad I didn't interfere with that. Maybe my dating her wouldn't have mattered, and they'd still end up together. Maybe my dating her would have me married to her, with a house, and a good job. I don't know. All I do know is that I'm glad I didn't interfere, because I see how happy they are together, and that is what I truly wanted for them.

Now if the entire world thought like this with all sorts of things, there's a pretty good chance our world would be in a better place. Caring more for others, than you do for yourself. Makes me feel good. My girlfriend really appreciates it, too. She, as well as her family, know that no matter what, I will take very good care of her. Just like she takes very good care of me.

So question it all you want, op, but I would truly prefer a world like that, than what we got. But, this is what we got, so you have to make the best of it.

reply to post by jiggerj


That doesn't mean people shouldn't try if that is what they feel. Ultimately it is up to each of us as individuals to decide what is right for us.

I love your realistic thinking and practicality.

I hate a lot of things. I don't hate people though, I try to understand them on their level of being.
Sometimes it is as easy as putting yourself in their shoes and walking a mile or so, other times, when you realize that you cannot understand them, you just have to walk away. Tough love is hard to do, but is doable.

The hypothetical questions you offer at the beginning are good questions for one who is trying to understand what we all are getting at with unconditional love in a spiritual sense.

Sometimes the answer is that we don't have answers for anyone but ourselves. I fall short in the love department, as it has never been a part of my experience. I had to learn to love myself no matter what I do, even if it is the wrong choice, because there are no wrong choices, just experiences to grow by. No one has these answers correct jigger, no one can tell you what a world of love is, because you have to find it in yourself.

It starts with loving yourself for who you are, once that is accomplished, the rest kind of just falls into place. Kind of like world peace, it is not achievable, you can only become at peace with the world through yourself, and when that happens, the world becomes at peace with you.

Perhaps I am not phrasing this correctly, but it is the best answer I can offer. The world can be full of hatred and lies, evil and darkness, or it can full of love and light and truth. It is up to each of us to choose what we look at, and in making those choices, we experience what we want to get out of this lifetime.

I treat people with respect, even if I do not agree, I choose to do this. It is my choice. I am not perfect, far from it, as all of us are, but it is those imperfections that allow us to grow and try to become all we can be. If everything was perfect, and the world was filled with nothing but love, we would not grow.

No matter what one believes, in the end, we are loved, and we are love, even if we hate, and fill ourselves with darkness.

I have nothing else to add. I have been watching this thread, and kind of keeping out of it, because i know it is a trap, but yet it is your honest want to know that is pulling me in.

So that is my explanation.

I honor the being you are jigger,
your ability to make people think is a good thing,
and keeps people grounded.

But in the end, you are what you are, as I am. What do you choose to be?
Where your attention goes, so does your experience. I hope you continue to dwell on love, instead of throwing out that it cannot be this way.

I remember a while back, a video I shared, that you stopped at the beginning, when it was said that as a baby, we are infinite potential, We are, even if you choose to not believe it, we are jigger.

I love you man, even if you don't want it, I give to you freely, and that is unconditional love.

Peace.