Community Corner
A Love Affair with the Divine
What if you devoted this Valentine's Day to the start of a beautiful new relationship?
Valentine's Day is one of those days that creates lots of pressure and stress in people's lives.
The media is filled with romantic images of virtually impossible scenarios that cause many to feel depressed rather than uplifted or loved on this so-called day of love. There isn't even an exact consensus on whom or how many St. Valentines even existed! But every year the hopes are laid out to capture some semblance love.
Where does all this desperation stem from? I believe it is a disconnect from Spirit or our Spiritual Source. As the song says, "I was looking for love in all the wrong places!"
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The only real and lasting gratification that we can achieve in the area of love is the love affair with the Divine. Let's face it: Even the greatest of love stories ends as a tragedy. Someone will have to die, whether it is 5 years or 70 years from now; all physical love ends.
I don't mean to sound pessimistic about love, just realistic. I am also not saying that we cannot love one another. It says in Deuteronomy and again by Jesus, that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart and all your soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.
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If we start with our neighbor or some materialistic concept of love, we will always fall short. The first part of the commandment is just that, the first step in finding the love of loves. Finding God.
Find God in whatever way that you can really cultivate a love affair. Take the time to define your relationship. What are you looking for in a relationship? Would you like someone who exemplifies the qualities of truth, beauty and goodness? Are these attributes of God for you?
Would you like someone who exemplifies the qualities of kindness, generosity and patience? Are these attributes of God for you? Would you like a relationship that is filled with laughter, light and love? Do you feel this way when praying to God? Would you like a relationship that is reliable, steadfast and eternal? Is this your belief about God?
What if you devoted this Valentine's Day to the start of a beautiful new relationship? Begin by defining the attributes of the Divine for you. Then allow this profound Love that organizes the universe and creates the flowers for all the Valentine bouquets to embrace you. With this reconnection alive and well, you will easily love your neighbor and every day will be a day devoted to Love!
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Rev. JoAnn Barrett is the Senior Officiant and founder of Gathering of Light Multifaith Spiritual Fellowship located in Dix Hills. She is one of the founding Board members of Council of Interfaith Congregations USA, CoChair of Interfaith Anti Bias Task Force of Suffolk County, a Member of Suffolk County Hate Crimes Task Force, a Member of Religions For Peace Long Island (a local branch of a world-wide NGO at the United Nations) and a Member of the "Dignity for All Students Act" Committee which recently helped this bill pass in the state Senate. She is a published author and poet. She lives in Kings Park, is married and has six grown children.
