Simple Acts of Love

Simple Acts Of Love
By Christopher Michaels © 2006


Love is when two rainforests meet in all their lush luxury with differences remaining yet they merge

Sit quietly with yourself, allowing yourself to be who you are in all your shame, rage, fear, weakness, strength and beauty

Wait for the silence

Be comfortable with your silence and your voice

Leave room for the stories of others

Feel yourself part of your relationships – you are affects and affecting, you are effects and effecting

Act in ways that enlarge everyone

Resist acting to enlarge yourself at the cost of others

Touch with all of who you are, as if you've been in solitary confinement for most of your life

Your ambition is good if it takes your friends and enemies with you to the top

Breath

Let yourself breath with your whole body

Relax

Relax your shoulders, relax your hips, relax your legs, relax your back, relax the drive to be other than who you are… now, relax the drive to push others to be… anything

Feel tall

Feel comfortable in your skin

Leave room for them to feel comfortable in their skin

Turn off your mobile phone

Listen

Listen with your ears, listen with your eyes, listen with your body, listen with your mind and your wholeness

Listen from the silence within, the silence between and under your drive to show yourself, to prove your point

Show your Self in a way that encourages them to show themselves, let them feel your interest in finding out who they are, now, and were, then and want to be

Hug often

Enjoy the struggle to share an exposed moment free of fear

Stand in your integrity while supporting theirs

Their fears and imperfections, and their defences against them, deserve your love just as yours do

Let them feel held, allow yourself to feel held

Let them feel the absence of shame, let yourself feel its absence too

Let them know you understand their vulnerabilities by showing yours

Let them feel their strength by showing yours

Let them feel your respect by giving yours

Imagine what it would feel like to have no fear, no need for strength, to be emotionally naked

Learn to ask good questions based on an excitement about who people really are and what they really need including what scares you about them

Take charge when they need it, let them take charge when you need it

Don't take charge, don't help, don't offer solutions when it is the easy way, only do it when it will enlarge all of you, including them

Help them give themselves what they need and want

Resist the temptations of feeling attacked

Resist the temptations of bringing history into the present

Resist the mask of habit with the freedom of joyous spontaneity shared

Resist the shame-filled belief you need to change, without resisting change

Resist the idea that love is simple