If you study the evolution of love, you will realise that love is actually the oldest and most ancient traveller in the universe. Love has been travelling constantly, and it will continue to do so from eternity to eternity. Even before this earth came into existence, the omniscient and omnipotent power that you call truth had expanded itself and expressed itself because of the power of love. Love itself means expansion, and it’s only opposite in the universe is the force of contraction and hatred.
As love travels, it goes through many phases in its expression; it changes and evolves on its way. A child is born and comes to the earth because love has journeyed along with two people, and as a result, love creates a child. If the relationship of love between a husband and wife was complete and limitless, they would not need a child, but their love wants to evolve, so a child born. No one needs to read a book to love a child; if you are a parent you have learned this already. Your son or daughter is born and you look at the child and you know that you love and love has made another stop on its journey.
At first the nature of a child’s love is self love it appreciates only its existence of its mother, who feeds it. The child becomes attached to its mother and loves her in the way it is capable of at this stage. Love continues on its way; soon the child loves its father and then its love travels to other things – to dolls, toy animals, or other bright objects. Then the child begins to love and become attached to other children and adults, as well as to games and activities. The child’s love travels on still further, to attractive clothes and then finally to a circle of friends. All along its journey, love lets go of some objects and attractions and moves on to others. As this happens, the child grows, matures, and becomes increasingly aware of the external world.
Finally the child becomes a young adult, and then love wants to find still another object for its attention. Love begins to move toward accomplishments and achievements, to many expressions of individuality. The love seeks a boy friend or girlfriend and love expresses itself in the choice of another person with whom to live one’s life. All along the way, as consciousness has expanded, love has traveled on, choosing increasingly fine and special expressions.
Eventually, love comes in a circle; it travels on, seeking a child and the experience of parenthood. As long as love travels, we are learning and growing, but whenever we try to stop love in its travels, we create a pool of stagnation. We create this stagnation by refusing to love or become involved with others because we are afraid of outgrowing our selfishness and our attachments to our own pleasures. We can also create stagnation if we start a family but live only for our own ego.
Whenever we do this, we are holding love back on its journey. Love is meant to grow and to increasingly radiate outward in ever expanding and widening circles from the centre within ourselves to the entire world. The whole purpose of a loving family life is to serve as an easy station on this journey.
As love travels on its way it becomes increasingly powerful. In fact, love is the only force that can ever really change the world or help to grow. The greatest kind of strength that a human being can have is the gentle strength of love. Love can tame all that is wild and uncontrolled; love is the only force that will help us end the violence and destruction in the world. Whenever we find young people who are growing up in a positive way, strong and self confident, with the capacity to give to others and contribute to the world, we will recognise the effects of having been loved. No one needs to learn to love; love is the natural capacity to love and care for others, if their natural tendencies are allowed expressed.
Throughout life, love grows and matures, seeking its final fulfilment, the capacity to love all. When we have learned to love and eliminate all barriers, we achieve the highest state of consciousness.
