All Is Full of Love

Posted on August 31, 2016

When I moved to Arizona, one of my first missions was to visit the Grand Canyon. Something I only had familiarity with through pictures and film references, I was awed by the thought of seeing this extraordinary geological sight in person, and I made the trip with a mixture of eager anticipation and deep reverence.

But something I was not expecting was that the Grand Canyon (as the official website brilliantly describes), “overwhelms our senses through its immense size”. I felt as though every iota of my vision was filled, my peripheral vision straining for a small measure of relief, and after a few minutes of ardently gazing, but seemingly not being able to take it all in, I genuinely felt a sense of anxious regret settling upon me. “Why do I feel so unfilled by this?” I wondered. “I feel so small, insignificant, unworthy. Is this just too immense or intense to be fully experienced in a meaningful way?”

So I did the only thing that I knew would center me: I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. The crystal clarity of Northern Arizona air was kissed with a gentle, autumnal chill that filled my lungs and quieted my mind. And in an unusual but seemingly perfect way, that’s when I began to finally to feel the fullness of an appreciation for nature and its incredible and awe-inspiring power.

But Mother Nature, as my best friend Lux wrote the other day, “is beautiful, but can also be devastating and terrible.” He knows this firsthand; his home country of Italy was beset by a powerful earthquake on August 24th, its harrowing tremors and aftershocks claiming nearly 300 lives. When heartrending events like this occur, whether caused by natural disasters or man-made violence, it’s human nature to ask why, to wonder at the sad destiny or fate that allows so many lives to be claimed long before their time. But something equally profound also takes place: we, who are so often consumed by the frustrations, stresses, and disappointments of our own personal microcosm, begin to make a profound nascent shift into caring about the macrocosm. Apathy gives way to altruism; callousness is replaced by compassion. It’s as if all at once, we remember that we’re all in this together. That being able to give our empathy, care, and support to others is perhaps the greatest expression of our humanity.

We shouldn’t need to stand on the edge of a vast and astounding canyon, or wait for the aftermath of a significant and life-claiming event, to understand the depth and breadth our significance and value; to recognize our ability to be gracious and compassionate; to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and open enough to receive, and to begin sharing those gifts with others. All is full of love. Sometimes all we need to do to see it and feel it is to close our eyes, and open our hearts. ♡

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“You’ll be given love, you’ll be taken care of
You’ll be given love, you have to trust it
Maybe not from the sources you have poured yours
Maybe not from the directions you are staring at
Twist your head around, it’s all around you
All is full of love, all around you …”