We all have an idea of how things should be and how we think they ought to go. We are always working, stretching, reaching, efforting—trying to fix the imperfect. Things are somehow never quite right.There is never enough; we feel something is needed or missing. What is missing is the realization of perfection, but it is not a static, finalized state. We are never separate from it but a part of it—we are it, always dynamic, always changing, ever unfolding. Perfection is the Mystery itself, always deepening and becoming more complex.
Eros teaches us to align ourselves to the flow of life. We may not like what’s happening but closing ourselves off from what is will only make the undesirable conditions feel worse. We separate ourselves from Eros when we believe things should be other than they are; when we cast blame; when we think there is something in our past that shouldn’t have happened or something that is happening right now that shouldn’t be. We separate ourselves from Eros when we believe we deserve something we’re not getting.
When we admit we are the ones who define our experience, we lose interest in blame and resentment as well as our claim to separation. We give up the belief that anything can be done to us as we recognize whatever we encounter is defined by our capacity to meet it. While we like to believe we are at the mercy of sex, food, the government, or “isms,” the truth is, we all have the most profound power inside us.A creative intelligence that absorbs, incorporates, and utilizes rather than judges, dismisses, and rejects—to convert whatever life presents into our ever-growing capacity for inspired expression.
Surrender to Eros. Recognize your ability to allow life to be as it is. One choice can never be taken from us and is the only choice we need: to approve of things exactly as they are. It can sometimes feel unbearable and overwhelming, especially when we’re in the midst of pain or heartbreak. We can choose a less difficult path if Eros feels like too much. Eros respects this choice, then goes elsewhere. But know this: its absence will be felt.
