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https://www.elephantjournal.com/2019/11/how-many-true-loves-can-we-expect-to-find-in-this-lifetime-mary-niehaus-ralles/
Well seasoned and well traveled along the road of life,
A wise person stopped to ponder a question many often ask…
“How many chances do you suppose life has to offer…in
matters of the heart?”
Having gone quite a distance, often getting off track, this
person walked alone once more…
“How many true loves can a person expect to find?”
Further still, this person pauses again along the side of a
road, near a wide river, with the sun beaming down and their reflection staring
back from the water.
“How can I know who I am or what value I hold…if I have no
one to tell me what I bring or what purpose I serve? How can I be fulfilled without someone to
make me whole?”
The water, deep and still, begins to move in gentle rippling
waves in response to a light breeze. The
image of the person is temporarily fuzzy and as it comes back into focus, it is
to find a new reflection staring back…and finally an inner voice begins
quietly:
“You hide your gift within.
You are your own truest and first love. There is no magic spell or
secret…no other person can make you whole.
You needn’t do anything or be anyone to share the value you
possess. You are a unique and beautiful
spirit, gifted with a kind and generous heart.
That you simply exist and breathe is exquisite. Value has less to do
with what you can offer and everything to do with simply being who you are.
That in itself is the hidden treasure.
And chances? Have I still a few left to take?
“When the moment is right, you will find that there are
exactly enough chances. You needn’t “do” anything at all to find happiness and
fulfillment within yourself. Life is too good not to share. Find happiness in
your own company first. The rest will follow and you will find it has less to
do with right or wrong and more to do with a willingness to take a chance.”
The wise person wept, realizing ignorance once more…
The most beautiful state of being is that tender balance
between complete love and acceptance of self and the ability to share that love
with someone else…not to complete you, but to complement that which you already
hold dear. Only then, will you truly be
able to embrace the love of another and accept them unconditionally as
well…knowing that the treasure that you seek was with you all along. And that any imperfections you find along the
way, whether through your own reflection or that of others…well, consider them
the finest of character traits …each owned and embraced to make you who you are
today. Reinforcements to your core made it possible for you to break without
shattering. You remain intact and
whole…and possess the wisdom needed to choose what you share and with whom in
the future.
Spoiler alert: Some
of the most extraordinary gifts come to us disguised in some of the most (seemingly)
ordinary people. Still waters run deep and
you will never find a diamond in the rough if you expect everything to shine at
first glance. And it’s the absence of polish that makes us real.
