We are so very excited to welcome Rachel and Steve's new baby into the world! Baby arrived on Friday, Oct 29 at 3.58am, at 9.6 lbs and 22 inches long, and all are healthy and well!
I first understood the idea of unconditional love through thinking about babies. I know that as tough as it can be to have a newborn baby, we don't blame the baby for crying, for being up all hours, for pooping in their diaper. I mean, that can be challenging stuff, but we don't blame the baby, we just love them unconditionally. Some babies have more challenging ways of being in the world, but they don't yet have any of the pressures of what they should or should not do.
Right?!?
That all starts as they begin to get older, when society starts to send messages to the baby and the parents/caretakers what is expected. It's at this intersection, sadly, when love/kindness/acceptance becomes more conditional. We all look through our various lenses of experience at each other (and at ourselves) evaluating. And honestly, we sometimes withhold love/kindness/acceptance based on what we observe.
So, how can we get back to that unconditional love? Well, it takes practice. And it may help to remember those who we do have that non-judgemental love for, like our babies, or our pets. We can also remember that although it's natural to be disappointed by our own, or each others' behavior, that sometimes our standards are too high, or our judgements too limited in understanding, or simply too harsh.
What might be gained by moving closer toward an attitude of unconditional love? What could be the risks involved?
As you may know, all of our topics are focused on healing. So, what healing may be able to occur when our point of focus for development is unconditional love? It's individual to each of us, but we can practice the idea in community.
We hope you take advantage to practice in community for November. We appreciate each one of you, whether you participate by reading this newsletter, or by attending classes online from near or far. It's all versions of community.
Thanks for being a part of ours!
In loving kindness,
EB, Leigh, Rachel & the whole Unfold gang