It
should be no surprise to anyone that love is at the center of
the meaning of life. Why? Because in its purest form it implies
a feeling of unselfish goodness towards other human beings.
That is true in whatever form love takes whether it is between
two lovers, a father and son, grandparents and grandkids or
a religious person and his flock.
Emotional
and biological factors may create the feeling of love.
But the important aspect of this state of being is not the cause
but its positive effect. The person who truly can love another
gives of his or herself uncompromisingly and unselfishly.
The simple reality is that to find
meaning in your own life you must be able to give of yourself
to others. No man is an island. We do not go through life alone.
Our birth is the result of being carried and cared for by another.
Throughout our life we are molded by teachers, relatives and
friends, and we often die in the care of others. A person who
can truly sacrifice for another in the name of love has encountered
the raw energy of the life force itself.
If you stop to think of it, life
is a constant cycle of giving and receiving in emotional, spiritual
and material terms. Love is one of the few elements that both
provides and returns something of real and overriding benefit.
That is true with the other actions we have described as necessary
in finding meaning in your life as well.
