Love is Universal

Everything will change, love remains the same.

(Gavin Rossdale, Love Remains the Same)

The psychologist Erich Fromm once remarked, if you only love one, you in fact love none. I remember the quote because it was so pointed. However, it is in fact only recently that I truly grasp what it means. Love is universal! There are certainly different degrees of intimacy and different manifestations of love; there are your parents, your life partner, your children, your close friends, your colleagues and other friendly faces in your life. You certainly spend more time and share more intense memories with some than with others, but in the end, love is universal. Either you love everyone in one way or another, or you don't love period. There simply is no in-between.

What exactly does it mean when we say to "fall in love"? All it really says that there is someone who really touches you on a soul level; someone who consider stunning looking, or someone who arouses you sexually; someone who can give you something that no-one else can. It is ok to fall in love with that special someone. The ego falls in love because it wants something; the soul makes this connection because it knows that there is a precious life experience in store for both of you. All of the specialness will fall by the wayside as we go hand in hand through life's ups and downs; love meanwhile remains the same!

True love is what is left after all the ego stuff has faded into the background. Looks, status, money, business contacts; all that specialness fades along the Way. The jealousy disappears, the seclusiveness vanishes. With every step along the Way, the glittering gold on the horizon fades as you spend all your moments picking up the gems right in front of your feet. Along the Way love is universal.