Why Love Gets Misconstrued

Continued from yesterday…

To better understand love, let’s first discuss a few misconceptions.

Love is not a thought, or an action, or something we do. Certain beliefs can lead to awareness of love, but it’s not love itself. Acting lovingly, such as helping a friend, is admirable, but it’s not what love is. Often, but not always, doing good for others is the fruit of love—what love creates or how love performs. The action and the thoughts related to love, however, should not be confused with love itself.

Neither should love be considered an emotion, even though it exhibits many of the same patterns. Fundamentally, emotions are thoughts that create a sensation within you. In fact, the word emotion comes from the Latin equivalent ēmōtus, which means to distract, disturb, agitate, stir up, move away, or move out.

Implied in the etymology is that your natural state is one of inner love, peace, and joy. Any experience or thought that drives you away from that state of peace is an emotion. Emotions essentially disturb the natural flow of love and shift your awareness from the present moment to dwelling on past experiences or future expectations.

To be continued tomorrow…

Adapted from Section 1 of Awakening To I Am Love by David Youngren