By Joel Levin, Western Australia
A recent article ‘A New Starting Point’ explored what life might be like if we gave life a new starting point. It explored the change from having pain and suffering as our starting point, to making love as the starting point…
It seems, however, that that story is only the end of the very beginning.
Love is not only the starting point, but it is possible to make it our ending point as well.
I am beginning to realise how often I start with love now, which is an amazing gift I have given myself. However, it’s been interesting to notice how often I feel amazing but then let myself become distracted by something – a thought, an ‘issue that I must deal with’, a perceived issue with something. In essence, I make love my starting point but I don’t make it my ending point.
Basically I say ‘that’s enough love now’ and pull the rip cord. It turns out I have a long list of ‘rip cords’ ready and waiting for me to pull at any moment.
If I explore why I might do that, what comes back is usually things like – “how will other people react”, “I can’t let it get too amazing because I might lose it”, or “I’m not strong enough to hold that love in the world”… or the classic “I’ve just got to sort out this issue then I’ll be able to hold it”.
All of these statements give me an issue to deal with and reason to be distracted – and a justification for starting but not ending with love.
I attended a recent men’s group and realised that for almost 10 years now I have studied The Way of the Livingness to varying degrees. All the usual difficulties of life were there at the start and are still around me today, but they affect me less.
Sometimes it feels like there is more pressure now to NOT start and end with love but the truth is, I AM living with more love than ever before. I AM deepening and improving relationships with people rather than them breaking down, I AM dealing with what life throws at me... in fact there is a long list of things I USED to use as a reason to not end with love, that I no longer do.
So I am and have made choices up until now that can change the tide and rhythm of my life: all those pressures on the outside don’t change, and based on my progress (slow at times, but progress all the same) it turns out they aren’t stronger than my making these choices.
The key difference as I see it, is to change the slogan “don’t sweat the small stuff” to something like “don’t sweat the big stuff!”. The big stuff being; how my parents were, workplace stress, deadlines, my role in the world etc. It’s this big stuff that gives me plenty of reasons to affirm why I am not enough right now and why I shouldn’t end with love.
The small stuff is making choices about; obsessing over thoughts or staying present with what it happening, the way I move my body, whether I let emotions or feelings run me, the food I eat, how I breathe… all that small stuff is the stuff that over the years has resulted in a significant shift in not just how I live, but the level of vitality, joy, harmony and yes, love that I feel.
I made love my starting point through these choices and it seems that love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends…!
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
Always remember however big an issue is it is only a smidgen of who you are. Still it must be dealt to with the honesty of why you are not choosing to live who you are but it never changes nonetheless the fact of how amazing you really are.
I know that one, getting distracted when I feel amazing. Great though to be aware of it so I can catch myself when it happens.
I love your honesty where you say – “Basically I say ‘that’s enough love now’ and pull the rip cord.” – it’s easy to blame others for our own choices but truly empowering to realise that we are the ones in charge of our connection with and expression of love…
Yes it is important to see the little details and noticing everything but there should not be an obsessiveness about it because then we fail to see our overall choices over time. When I am too focussed on every thought and feeling I have I get very tensed but when I do feel the bigger picture of how my life is and the choices I am making there is appreciation instead.
A gorgeous reminder Joel to continue to deepen and expand our love.
What quality are we saying yes to if we accept anything less than love?
I wonder if thinking that there ever is such thing as an end is an attempt at an illusory relief that we give ourselves from this continuum or our existence.
Understanding what end is, allows us to better grasp the relationship between ends and beginnings in terms of space that opens up to keep building is just beauty which has to be appreciated in its divine grace.
So many invented (but in our minds), completely justifiable, reasons as to why we don’t step up and step forward, and the ‘I’m not there yet’ or ‘I haven’t mastered xyz yet so who am I to step up and claim my authority in it?’ is indeed a classic. We sometimes forget that the mastering and learning of something happens when we take what can feel like a risk and say yes to something and step forward, with no pictures or expectations of what it’ll look like and no need or pressure on ourselves to ‘get it right’.
Where humanity has to get to is love. Or rather not “get” to it but instead just BE it. It is the only answer after all to all our issues, which in truth are caused by a lack of BE-ING love.
It is interesting the lack of consistency in our actions – we can start off with love but not finish, or we can start without love and half way through realise we are not being loving and make changes. Making love our start and end point and working on maintaining it every step of the way builds up our consistency.
Gosh, I am starting to see how much I actually fight love. I notice that when a relationship deepens I will resist it and pull in an issue to avoid going deeper. It is like love terrifies me, I can feel it is avoiding bringing a greater responsibility of consistently being who I am.
Love it Joel, love has no ending just an ever deepening. Someone shared with a group today that if we took just one loving act towards ourselves daily and became consistent in this, love can not help but expand from this one action. Something small that effects the greater.
We can sweat about so much, all of the details of life and getting it right – small or big. Does any of this matter? Maybe by taking care of our body, our vehicle, we start to re-arrange the details.
When I read your blog I was reminded that just yesterday I noticed an expression that came up “I just have to…” there were so many things that fit on the end of that sentence but every single one of them was an indication that I was not living up to my potential and there were things I needed to do in order to turn that around. I clocked what an illusion it is, was and will forever be. A Furfy with a capitol F!
There is so much to consider here. The cyclical nature of our every day but the turnaround in what is the focus – it is not the big stuff but the small stuff because if we pay attention to the seeds we so what we reap will also change.
I love how you have highlighted that with love there is in-truth no end, and when we walk, live and move with love the depth of quality and presence we can bring to our everyday living is endless. It is only when we move without love that we seek and experience an end point, or an end point to a momentum is reached. For the nature of love is to behold and magnify the light of truth through all that align to its vibration.
Beautifully said Carola, thank you, we have the eternal opportunity to connect with deeper levels of love and bring that back to our everyday way of living and being with everyone.
I agree Joel, love has no ending point, it just keeps forever expanding. “I’ve just got to sort out this issue then I’ll be able to hold it”.This is such a brilliant observation Joel and I can totally relate because I often fall for this.
Very true Doug that is why love is so marvellous as it just deepens and expands, as there is no end to it.
Yes Brooke, I also know the old sabotage game we try to play to keep ourselves small, calling it out is key to stopping this old and destructive pattern.
This is a beautiful reminder Joel, there really is no limit to love. It is absolutely endless. When we live this truth we are rewarded back in so many ways, there is also a powerful ripple effect that touches many and inspires them to be open to this truth as well.
As you say with love and other such Divine qualities there is no end only eternal expansion. With emotions and other non-divine expressions there will eventually be an end!
Spot on Nicola, you have identified the difference between succinctly and precisely.
Aahh don’t sweat the big stuff too, I love being reminded of this and I laughed out loud when I read this line “I’ve just got to sort out this issue then I’ll be able to hold it”. …. as I so know this. But in fact if I stop today and consider there is so much to appreciate and so much has changed in both the small and the big stuff and it’s continuing to allow myself to not sweat either of it and to remind myself and others too that at the end of it all, no matter what we’re presented with we have a choice in how we are with it, is it with love from start to end no matter what. And if we wobble then simple we can choose to come back to it being with love.
There is a part of me that longs for an end point but I know it is a part of me that wants relief. Another wiser part of me knows that it is just my service to keep going, that there will be ebbs and flows within all cycles but it is the constant rhythm that sustains the foundation of the whole. When we study nature and its cycles, it is clear that the idea of stopping is not reflected in all that we see. The world does not stop spinning nor does the sun stop moving and emanating. It is actually very natural to return to the place we start, so if we start with love, it only makes sense to “end” with it.
I find that if I take care of the small stuff (how I walk, how I breathe, my small conversations with people, how I communicate, following my rhythm) it naturally takes care of the big stuff, because I am one billion percent prepared and ready for whatever happens.
So true Meg, and I find we tend to focus on the big stuff and often forgetting to bring our attention to the small stuff because we deem them less important. But like you shared, it is the small stuff that prepares us for the big stuff.
And – the small stuff becomes exquisite if an equal and proportionate amount of care is given to it.
I love reading your blogs Joel there is so much wisdom. Love has ‘no end point’ so why do we then challenge ourselves and making it like Ben Hur when it so easy to make that loving choice on the first place.
I read in one of the comments that appreciation is key and I realise when we appreciate more, love expands – it’s that simple.
Appreciating how far I have come in my life has been hugely supportive for me. There are times where it seems progress is slow, or that there is so much more potential that I can sense but have yet to live. During these times especially when I reflect on my life today from 10 years ago when I was living recklessly it is hugely inspiring. Thank you to Universal Medicine and the support I have received from many throughout this time, and thank you to myself for the dedication and commitment to deepening the quality of my life and letting go of things that were not supportive.
When we nurture the ‘small stuff’ of our every choice it awakens the love in our life.
Making love the beginning and the end – a great definition for living.
When it comes to love, there is no end point, it just grows and grows when it is seen and felt as you have shown us.
That is some priceless advice Joel on how one can start and end in love. Sometimes it’s the cracks we turn a blind eye to that allows the ill to slip in.
Well said Kim ‘Sometimes it’s the cracks we turn a blind eye to that allows the ill to slip in.’ Thanks for reminding me of this.
Extravagant Joel! The love is there wholesome and full in everything that presents. It is our movement to manifest it into a reality. In other words (or worlds haha!) make it happen. And the best place to start is in the small things because when we join them all-together it = BIG.
The “big stuff” is always the love we are.
‘It seems that love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends’, I love what you share here Joel, to live love consistently and to know it is a forever deepening process is a beautiful reminder we can all be inspired by.
I love this blog, I had never thought of how we can choose to end with love and do we do this. Your blog just gave me a realization that I too end with love far more than I used to. Great moment of appreciation.
We believe in ending points as in there is nothing beyond them. It is true that some things end (particularly in the world of matter) but others do not. There are things in this world that are destined to expand perpetually.
The true starting point is love. As you say Joel, there are so many end points that are not love that keep distracting us along the way and in that moment we are saying no to evolution. Rather an ‘ouch’ moment to ponder upon as it exposed the lack of consistency.
“Basically I say ‘that’s enough love now’ and pull the rip cord. It turns out I have a long list of ‘rip cords’ ready and waiting for me to pull at any moment”.
I have always been great at starting things, I enjoy a big clean out of my cardboard, or start a weeks clean eating but keeping it up has always been more challenging. As you state there is no real ending when it comes to love but there is a consistency that gains a momentum and I think that finishing things in a different way could be key for us to be able to start things a fresh.
This paragraph brought me to a complete stop for a few moments, as it made me realise and appreciate how much more love I am living now than I was 9 years ago, prior to being a student of Universal Medicine.
A wonderful confirmation of how I am dealing with what life throws at me, instead of going into reaction and contraction.
“I AM living with more love than ever before. I AM deepening and improving relationships with people rather than them breaking down, I AM dealing with what life throws at me… in fact there is a long list of things I USED to use as a reason to not end with love, that I no longer do”.
Beautiful Joel, you are a master with words.
When we know that we are already love and complete in our essence it changes the starting point to one of returning rather than going out to seek something we’re missing so to speak and so the way forward becomes one of constantly deepening our expression of that connection in our everyday.
Nice perspective Joel. It’s always welcomed to have a common theory turned on it’s head a little to make us realise how much we sell out to an idea that someone out there has created and we just jump on for the ride without really discerning for ourselves what that idea is actually about and the energy behind it.
Human life is full of waves with the odd tsunami coming in threatening to wipe us out – but the more in rhythm we are with the flow around us, the more prepared we are to be steady and solid with whatever comes our way.
A great reminder Joel of how easily we allow our emotions to run us, or the thoughts that go on in our mind, when really if we come from love we are first we are able to deal with all the challenges life brings us.
Ending a day in the same quality we have started is really a challenging one because it requires us to be so much aware of where we are at every moment and to correct our movements when we are deviating from it. It is important to admit that this is a major challenge that requires to focus on the quality of our movements all the time and not get caught by the different scenery.
I loved this blog for all it revealed. I could very much relate to starting with love but petering out a bit. It showed me a lack of commitment to love even though it’s everything we could want in the world. I also loved the realisation that we shouldn’t sweat the big stuff. The only big stuff that really matters is love. All the other stuff big stuff can be done with love. If it cant include love at its foundation, it is not worth doing.
It certainly changes the focus of your day if you say – I want to end this day in love – it changes then how you move and what you observe and choose not to take on in the day and how you support yourself and respond in each moment. I am going to use this today.
Thinking that there would be an ending point is rather tormenting as in truth there never is an ending and I know for myself it feels like the goal posts are constantly being shifted and I am not able to appreciate neither life as it unfolds, nor myself as a forever student.
I love this blog Joel. I like the simplicity of it and this morning it has inspired me to keep things simple and focus on the small things like my breath and how I move as I go about my day.
So true Joel, there is no end point to love, why limit ourselves and only accept a small amount when there is an abundance of love on offer waiting for us to embrace.
There is no end point to our connection to love only a deepening of that which we are. I start my day off with love but often lose it when I take on my children’s issues, as I am learning to observe and not go into the fixing mode, I can hold my love more consistently, and end my day with a loving repose.
Regardless of whatever we do in our lives, the situations that we are met with, the challenges we face and breakthroughs we experience, the one constant and steady quality that is ever-present in our lives is the love we are within, through which there is no end to the degree that we can choose to live in connection to. It is this love that forever calls us to remember who we are first and foremost, and embrace the wisdom of our love within that awaits to guide our every step.
I often put the breaks on when I feel it’s enough – amazing enough. I think there is a limit and that too much more amazingness is not possible so I pull my own rip cord and put the breaks on. I wonder what would happen if I didn’t….
As I read this I contemplated what my day would be like if tonight I finish with love and feeling that I have lived love today. That alone gave me the perspective to consider my choices and what they would look like and what I would choose throughout the day and how that would then feel.
Thank you Joel for this blog. The ‘small stuff’ is what shapes our relationship with the ‘big stuff’ and lifestyle choices are well within our control when we give them our focus. So the bigger, ‘outside of us’ situations are related to differently, the more we are responsible and caring in the parts of life we do have a say in. We can only have issues while we choose to believe that we have no power over how we feel, respond or react to certain situations and that comes if we focus on the parts we cannot change (other people, situations etc) and ignore that our small parts contribute to the bigger picture.
What you have illustrated so very very well here Joel is a deep appreciation and understanding of the infinite quality of Love.
I remember a few years ago someone telling me not to sweat on the big stuff and I appreciated what they were saying but could not really follow their advice because I had not yet built the love in my body from not sweating the small stuff. Bringing more love and care into my life in so many ways allows me to build a foundation whereby the big stuff becomes equal to the small stuff. This foundation rests on the connection and expression that I choose.
So true Elaine, our power is in the details. When we commit to bringing our love to all the small things we do in our lives we build a loving foundation, a steadiness and consistency that then naturally magnifies this love throughout our lives, in all we do be it big or small. And in fact we discover and come to know that the love we are within is immeasurable and unchangeable regardless of whatever situation we are met with.
Joel, it is so true that all the small stuff does add up and so lets appreciate how far we have come. However, lets not seek comfort in this as there is a deeper place in love for us to go and then deeper after that and so on. There is no end point -not on this plane of life anyway so lets enjoy the ride, work on the small stuff and feel the beauty in the depth of connection we have with life, with ourselves and with God.
Thank you Joel for a great article, showing the expansiveness of love to never having an ending point and how our issues big or small can derail us if we let them on our ever deepening journey of love.
Yes, I agree Joel, it is all the small stuff that makes a difference to how we deal with everyday life and the big stuff when it comes along. And yes, there is never a stopping or ending point as we go on for ever, as does love, so we may as well deepen the love as we go by paying even more attention to the little details of life! Great blog.
What I have noticed in myself is that I was acting as though love had a limit, believing I was only able to hold and harness love up to a certain point, if that makes any sense. Similar to thinking that I am not good enough, but in a way trying to keep it safe, not wanting to make ‘mistakes’ or getting it wrong – by letting love be the way, all the way. So for me, what it shows is that if the ending point is not being love, the starting point is already wobbly.
Focusing on the small stuff and not sweating the big is a great way to be. Life opens up and instead of going out of ourselves to live it, it comes to us. We learn we need not go anywhere and in fact to do so is to leave ourselves behind.
I absolutely agree Joel, the truth is love never ends. I felt to highlight this part as well, “I can’t let it get too amazing because I might lose it”,it reminds me of how I used to think. I used to be too afraid to lose ‘feeling amazing’ and embracing love, so I played it safe and didn’t allow myself to feel too amazing just in case it got taken away, yet I was the one choosing to hide it. Crazy, how I allowed this fear of losing love cap me from expressing it, when in fact it is impossible to lose love because I am love. I now understand that it is always my choice to connect to love or not, because no one can take love away, it is definitely endless and will always be with me regardless.
Joel, I always come out of reading one of your blogs ready to move in a way that will bring about evolution within. Thank you for your expression.
“I made love my starting point through these choices and it seems that love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends…!” Glorious inspiration for my day – thankyou Joel.
I enjoyed reading your blog again Joel. What you describe is all too familiar. The ripcord that caught my eye this morning was “I’ve just got to sort out this issue then I’ll be able to hold it”. For me it’s as if I feel I don’t deserve or am not worthy of even starting, let alone ending with love if I’m stuffing things up. My old habit was to feel the need to fix myself first before I could bring love in, but that is so not the case. I am experimenting now and can start with love and sometimes even end with it and then deal with the stuff ups from that place of connection.
I find sometimes that the big stuff seems so big and I cower away from it and delay doing what needs to be done. As soon as I start dealing with this big stuff it begins to shrink. I have made it big in my mind and it has no power of it’s own at all.
I think that’s a great point – how we can make things seem more of an issue than they are and in fact it is us just feeding it to be a problem rather than it being something unsurmountable.
Thank you Joel,
This article has stopped me and given me much to ponder on. I like how you share to make love our ending point. As, like you share, I too have many thoughts that erode the love I start with, but what if I choose to make love my ending point. I can already feel the significance of your article on my life.
Sometimes our progress can feel as if it is not progress due to the pace it moves at but what this blog has reminded me of is that appreciating how far I have come is what will propel me forward, not dwelling on the pace I have got there in.
Hear, Hear Sarah – how far we have come is a powerful marker to consistently return to deepening our connection within. Measuring the pace to get there makes it a slog rather than a joy.
I just adore your writing Joel and always love that through your stunning outpouring of words I am inspired to let go of the rip cord and choose love in that moment. A healing in an instant.
I like this reflection as sometimes I can start with love but I may react along the way and so don’t stay committed to that and end in love. I then end in reaction, exhaustion etc. I like the idea of focusing on ending in love so that it supports you with all of your choices throughout the day.
Thank you Joel for a great article, one that I can relate to, though my love is growing day by day, and I start with love, i am not always ending with love, being distracted away from myself by what appear to be issues, The space between loosing my self and coming back to my self is over time becoming less, enabling me to choose to re connect once again.
We are held in the embrace of God’s love, we come from love; love is our essence so all that is asked of us is to be who we truly are and living life is our way to return to all the love that we naturally are.
Brilliant! There is never and ending point to love, I absolutely agree. The thoughts you shared Joel, they can easily take us further away from being connected to love but these thoughts can disappear in an instance once we choose to re-connect to love again. When we are connected to love these thoughts cannot enter but once we choose to disconnect from love they quickly come flooding back.
“Sometimes it feels like there is more pressure now to NOT start and end with love but the truth is, I AM living with more love than ever before.” I experienced this very thing this morning, it’s like the deeper we go, the more love that we allow ourselves to be, what was once extreme and unloving drops away and there is a new level of what is considered ‘extreme and unloving’. In the past I would have gone into a huge drama and claimed that everything has been for nothing because now I feel terrible ‘again’ but that’s a lie. The building of loving choices in my life has not been an instant thing, it’s been a step by step process and no amount of expectations and pressure to make it all go away instantly has ever worked. Each time I go deeper I am finding more of what is love and what is not love and the details that were previously ignored. I appreciate returning to this blog as it highlights how there is no start or end, just going deeper, Thank you Joel.
I was pondering beginnings and endings yesterday and came to the ‘conclusion’ (Ha!) that there is no beginning and no end, just the opportunity to choose between truth and illusion in every moment. If I make my relationships about love and evolution I am able to accept what is before me and see that all is part of the one grand and infinite plan.
There is no way I would have believed this years ago – that love has no end point, I would only feel a chosen few may get to experience this. Being a student of The Way of the Livingness I know that love is always deepening and unfolding and the immense joy and richness we can feel when we consistently make loving choices in our lives.
So true and beautifully said Joel, this has also been my experience as well ‘ it seems that love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends…!’. How much of this love are we willing to live everyday? What joy and freedom there is in living love in full everyday and appreciating that this is forever deepening and expanding.
Love the contrast. Especially the line ‘don’t sweat the big stuff’.
Although I do not fully grasp the idea yet I feel it is somewhere worth considering.
Me too Angela, making a start to work on building more love consistently in my life is deeply supporting me in all areas and I see how this impacts on people around me too. The ripple effects of love is incredible.
Great comment Abby, I have recently become aware of this in my movements too. I have found when I feel disconnected I can bring awareness to my movements, be it sitting, walking or making a cup of tea and from this I feel reconnected to myself again and by moving more gently and with awareness more of my body.
Brilliant Brendan, this is so, so true. I have met a lot of people from Universal Medicine who have mastered this level of commitment and therefore inspiring others to also do the same.
It’s amazing to your blog Joel, it highlights to me how similar we all are. All the rip cords you mentioned are so relatable and they sound just like some of my thoughts that comes through me. I especially love the classic one, “I’ve just got to sort out this issue then I’ll be able to hold it”. The ultimate excuse to delay fully embracing love.
Great point Fiona- a reminder for me today.
Yes I agree with this Brooke, the head always comes in to justify not being love this then configures the body to move and act in this way.
I can relate to this too. When you have a strong intention to be loving and then as the day or days go on you drift away from this and don’t hold it. I find when I slip in the way I take care of myself then I am no longer able to hold the love and not react to life.
Thank you Joel – reading this has brought me to a much deeper appreciation of what it is I am doing and how far I’ve come rather than choosing to have my focus on what’s still there to be healed. Sometimes it can feel like the same issue repeating itself but I’m understanding more that there are just deeper layers and not to be fooled into thinking that there has been no change. A never ending deepening back to the love that I am/we all are.
Love this blog Joel because it challenges me to let go of all the ‘yes but …’ excuses and to simply remember that love really is the starting and end point.
The oscillating between the two is exhausting Angela and not to mention the strain it can have on relationships. I find this with parenting, I know what love what do or say but when that doesn’t seem to make a difference (in my mind) I then pull the ‘rip cord’ as Joel said and go to the old familiar way of dealing with a situation. It’s breaking that cycle and as you say Angela choosing to develop consistency.
I love it Brooke, our bodies are in full support of us being our naturally loving selves, so if we are numb from our bodies we know what part is leading the show.
Me too Aimee. Getting myself caught up in mentally trying to unpick what’s going on at times or what might happen in the future or things I could have done differently etc are all traps for me to be distracted from continuing to be love and just allowing that to deepen. This blog has been a great reminder to stay focused along the way, trusting that love is always available. Thank you Joel and Aimee.
I like this comment Sandra – no start and no end, and hence not a straight line but a never ending cycle of life.
Yes sarahflenley, it is oh so easy to use any excuse to not be the love we know ourselves to be. I am learning to not run with these ever present stories and say yes to the love that I am.
Great stuff Joel. Appreciation is the antidote to all of these negative thoughts. Appreciation of everything, everyday. It is a livingness that supports the amazingness life can be
I agree Joshua, the moment I choose a rhythm of appreciation, appreciation of my qualities but also appreciating the choices I make life gets a shine and there is no ‘but’ anymore. Love is just there.
Beautiful Annelies. So the way to let go of our resistance is just simple appreciation.. love it!
So true Brendan, beautifully said.
The starting point is indeed our foundation and can dramatically influence our end point. However it is important to note that we can choose to end something at any time with the blessing that any ending is always a new starting point….
There is so much to be appreciative of and I find myself so blessed to have been inspired to make conscious choices about how I will live and how I will choose a more loving, nurturing way for myself, that has made a huge difference to how I feel and how much I love. It feels to me that this small stuff is the big stuff because of these amazing changes.
Irena, you describe how it is when we bring truth – I’m learning that honesty is important but if I get caught up in right (and I often do) then how I express may not be loving and is therefore not true, but as both you and Joel offer here, if I make both my starting and my ending point love then it’s different, there is no need to be right just an expression of truth.
A great observation that we can get so far in bringing love to everything but then hit a glass wall where we use ‘the big stuff’ as our next convenient rip cord, a way to distract ourselves, not feel good enough or reason our way out of taking love right through to the end. Your blog has helped me see those rip cords I know I have, just conveniently waiting in the wings. Thank you, Joel.
Interesting point raised “All of these statements give me an issue to deal with and reason to be distracted – and a justification for starting but not ending with love.” something to really consider, but not for too long because it will become one of my issues to deal with…! (one of my jokes…) But really, I know I do this, bring an issue in to deal with rather than finish with love. Often love is there and I do feel I complete an encounter, but those issues do slide on in taking up space and causing complication. Great observation and exposure, something to keep practicing. Thank you.
Yes Hannah, I love reading Joel’s blogs and each time I do I get something different from them. This one today I smiled that I choose it, just perfect to feel this places where I start with love but then let things slide and decide enough in some way shape or form, and I know so many rip cords, so great to be reminded that they are not needed.
Yes Monica, I can totally relate – it’s amazing how much time and energy we can spend on hatching escape plans when things get a little tough or uncomfortable – totally taking us away from the present and therefore our natural ability to deal with whatever is being presented.
Thanks Hannah, this is so supportive to read today, how when we go off in those plans we’re not in the present and where we can naturally deal with whatever is being presented.
Yup, we are naturally pretty absolutely amazing – and we can live this amazingness in as many moments as we choose to be present. 🙂
Joel I love what you have shared about changing “don’t sweat the small stuff” to “don’t sweat the big stuff”.
I too have found paying attention to the smaller loving details of my life has impacted my ability to not get caught up with what I call the dramas in life.
i remember your blog on making Love a starting point and loved it. It was a game changer for me. As I reflect on that, it seems that the natural end is to make Love the End Point for there isn’t really an ending and only another beginning. All the ‘small’ stuff in-between can often be overlooked e.g how we breathe, how we go to bed at night and get up in the morning, how we move during the day and what /when we choose to eat. Whilst all these thing seem ‘so ordinary’ – for me they are “THE BIG STUFF” that hold me day in and day out. These blogs have helped me to expand and reflect more on life and the effects that our individual perspectives can inform and influence our livingness. Love the pondering :).
Living in a way that commits to simply being loving and not pulling the cord so that the love forever deepens and evolves, is just a gorgeous way to move through life and one well worth aspiring to.
Making love everything – then it doesn’t matter whether the “stuff” that life throws at us is big, small or in between, we will always have everything we need to deal with it, as love is endless
Awesome blog Joel, very inspiring! I can so relate to the list of ‘rip cords’. I clearly remember making those choices to pull it out when I was feeling too joyful or amazing in fear of what might happen if I allowed myself to continue on feeling this way. I usually got crushed, so I would quickly pull the cord before it happens. Crazy but true, living with those choices I have made has taken a toll and now I know I can choose a different way. To not be fearful of who I am, to just always be myself and never hold back. This takes a bit of practise as I am so used to keeping a cap on how amazing I am and can feel. I was worrying too much about other people’s reactions, letting it control how I feel and expressing to the world who I am.
Beautiful. I can very much relate to your rip chords list, and reading your words I can feel how horrible it actually feels to be holding back, it feels like strangulation and I am aware that I have been there more than enough. I am constantly reminding myself that having an issue to deal with doesn’t mean I am less love, as long as I don’t allow that to get in a way of expressing love.
I like this Fumiyo, the fact that an issue is not a sign that we are less love or less worthy but a sign that there is more love in us already just waiting to come out!
Wonderful conclusion of the article, Joel! We all learned to think so lineal: starting points, end points… And you beautifully guide us out of the lineal thinking into the spherical thinking and also show us the way to get there. Changing choices about the small stuff. So accessible.
It is inspiring Joel that love is your new ending point and that this new ending point has in truth no ending – just a deepening because as you wrote so wisely: “in truth Love never ends…”
Your blog is a great reminder that we have choices every moment, and when we choose love we are expanded and able to handle every situation. Thank you Joel.
“I made love my starting point through these choices and it seems that love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends…!” – thank you Joel for this beautiful sharing.
Exactly the never ending story!
A wonderful revelation in the way to be with soul, Joel. As you rightly expressed it’s the love we bring to the ‘small stuff’ that will forever be expanding forever.
Love this Joel as I too am someone who has been taking the slow burn approach to bringing more love to my life. I feel it is true what you have shared here, that love does not have an end, it just deepens and I look forward to deepening that love the more I open myself up to life.
For me this highlighted how getting the ‘small stuff’ on point means the the ‘big stuff’ is easier to handle when it comes your way, because there’s not a pile up of sweating it and not a tonne of things to deal with on your plate.
Love it Joel, so very true. When we choose love there is no end to the deepening and expansion of truth that is available to live.
This is great Joel, and because there’s no separation in love, it is therefore the end as much as it is the beginning.
Yes it’s true Joel.
When we focus on making the small stuff all about love – the big stuff takes care of itself – from start to end.
Love is the end point that never ends. Your description of choosing love as the starting point…that then…sort of…peters……away…. is great Joel. So too the analogy of the rip cords that give you the ‘out’ so that that love is not the only sustained choice, and committed end point. I have discovered it is possible to pull the rip cord on love with any number of things. It is as though I can pull that cord when things threaten to get too grand and too lovely in my life. Ahhh…a little moment of reprieve from all of that love and the extraordinary quality it brings to all that I do. But why would I want a reprieve from that?
This is a question I will explore today as a result of your blog Joel, not only in terms of seeing the rip cords I pull, but asking myself why am I pulling them, and why now?
What a beautiful Blog Joel. Truth never ends, just deepens, says it all.
Your wise words have encouraged me to consider how I am in each moment for the rest of my day, making each moment about love. Thank you Joel.
“I can’t let it get to amazing because I may lose it” Whoa after reading that I realised I am still doing that. Thank you Joel for allowing me to be aware of the brakes I have been using to hold back the love that I am, and reminding me that there is no ending to love, only a forever deepening.
Making love the starting point, the middle and the end point feels like an amazing way to live. Not sweating the small stuff or the big stuff, holding myself as love first and knowing that I am enough is a work in progress for me. The feeling is amazing when I can hold myself in love for the entire day.
Knowing that I am enough is a profound understanding Lee and one that if I truly connect with, has enough power to let all the love in that I could ever imagine. It makes me realise how I am at times reluctant to truly feel this truth and that makes no sense, however it does point to what it means for self responsibility. And being enough means that we are already complete, another profound truth.
Starting, end and everything in between, yes to love.
Great point Joel, making love the starting point. And I can also relate to the rip cord to stop and measure how much love is allowed or we can handle. It reminds me of how comfortable we are in our zones, the good and the bad. We set limits and boundaries in all sorts of ways, including love.
Making love our starting and end point is completely the way to go.
I am learning to live with love all the way.
“I made love my starting point through these choices and it seems that love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends…!” – Love it Joel, in truth love never ends.
Thank you Victoria, you have just deepened what I received from Joel’s Blog.
It’s beautiful to revisit this blog, and a welcome reminder also the comment I made a couple of years back.
Acceptance, acceptance, acceptance… and the mental effort (inner resistance) that simply doesn’t want us to not only accept exactly where we find ourselves, but then throw in some love to boot…
We are all truly Amazing – time we got over ourselves!
Beautiful confirmation of yourself Joel. I couldn’t help confirm myself, as I read and felt how much I’ve chosen to bring love into my life and how amazing this feels. Thank you.
Thats right Joel to deepen our love we need to deepen our connection,choices and constancy by the way we live . love has no end just the ability to deepen.
Great comment Sarah “I feel like the more love we choose the more likely we are to choose love” and yes that supports us in not sweating the big stuff. Awesome how it all works.
My favorite excuse not to end with love (well I should say continue endlessly with love) is I don’t completely trust that without the stress or nervous drive I will be able to do the job at hand efficiently. Whether that be getting through peak hour (showers + dinner) with 5 kids or more recently doing the busiest day that we have ever done at my cafe.
It was Easter long weekend and I was running the bookings section/floor. The phone just wouldn’t stop ringing and I mean literally, not to mention I was suppose to be meeting and greeting new customers and organising seating. I did an amazing job under a huge amount of pressure but I could feel that I was racy and a little hyped up by the end of it. I do appreciate that most people in this industry would have got short and rude to customers and/or taken things out on staff, I did not do anything like that.
The experience did however make me wonder why we take so long to trust love even though it always comes up with the goods… and no matter how many times we get burned from the after math of stress and anxiety we continue to use it like an old favorite bike and keep getting back on. My theory is that even if something is “bad” for us if it’s familiar it will be returned to. I feel like the more love we choose the more likely we are to choose more love….So on and around those stressful/ bigger moments and days perhaps more love and care is required. These little things can help to prop the big things up and give them something to stand on.
Gorgeous and well pointed out, so we have a beginning and end but as I was reading your blog what came to me is how consistency is the key. If we are consistent with how we are, then there is no start middle or end, it is just a different way to be : )
Joel, it makes sense not only to start with love but also to end with it. What’s super about this is how you describe that love doesn’t have an end, but just a deepening that can go on and on. I have noticed that when I pay attention to the small stuff you mention, I find it a lot easier to deal with the big stuff. Love reading your blogs.
“I’ve just got to sort out this issue then I’ll be able to hold it”.
I love this line Joel, its something a friend recently brought to my attention, and have been observing in myself lately. I’ve noticed that it’s something that I’ve used most of my life to stop being my true glory. Always feeling like if I get through this issue then I can be amazing. Funny thing is I always find another issue that I need to get through. What an illusion this is that stops me living what I already am.
It’s like we see our issues as huge tsunamis that just take us out from under our feet, this makes us worry about the enormity of the issue that’s in front of us. However it has only been in the last couple of months that I have started to really see that every issue is the size of a grain of sand, well some might be two grains but that’s very rare. When I look at a situation, conflict, issue or what ever you want to call it and see it as only the size of a grain of sand I know that its ok. I know that this issue does not control me nor does it need to change the way that I am. I do not need to be worried about one grain of sand, I mean whats the worst it can do, and when we see our issues as something so small it is so much easier to move through them and continue on with our day.
This has been my experience too Shevon, ‘Focusing on how I breathe, connection, how I look after myself on a daily basis and being consistent with this is the key. While taking care of the detail – decisions about those big things becomes much easier and clearer and they just fall into place.’
I have come back to this blog for the second time and what really stands out for me this time is ” All the usual difficulties of life were there at the start and are still around me today, but they affect me less.” I now realise that even though at times it seems like I am in the same situation, it doesn’t affect me in the way it used to because I have changed.
Without love even the ‘small stuff’ can seem like ‘big stuff’
Beautiful Joel, it is indeed about supporting ourselves to build more love, and that there is never an endpoint and continually grow.
Thanks for sharing your blog Joel, yes what if we simply made it all about love.
“Don’t sweat the big stuff” – I love it! As I have paid more attention to the small stuff in my life and the choices that I make in each and every moment the more the big stuff falls into place. If I am caring and loving with myself and others in each and every little moment then I have a foundation of care and love that stays with me in the big moments.
Love as an ending point that never ends…beautiful Joel. I am allowing myself these days to appreciate the love I already live today, not focussing on the moments I am not choosing that love, but allowing more love to unfold in every lived day.
Joel awesome writing as always – what is fundamental here is the understanding that we can keep expanding – the choices we make are literally stepping-stones into more awareness and deeper love.
I have read your article “A New Starting Point” and I understand what you mean here. We have made changes in our lives and, now we are able to start from “love”. It is our unfolding to deepen that love and consistently staying in it “because it never ends”. Thank you Joel for writing this.
This is a great awareness to be brought to my attention, thank you Joel.
In my own experience, love just makes things so much more simple and makes life more worth it, for how you are with all others.
Thankyou Joel.
Your descriptions of the small stuff and the big stuff are really practical and helpful Joel, and the way you have explained that love builds with small acts, so that it is accessible to all. The fact that love is ever deepening is beautiful to feel, so we don’t have to look ahead for some ideal place to arrive at, but stay in the present moment and make that moment about love.
I loved re-reading your blog and what stands out for me this time is ” love as an end point has no ending, just a deepening because in truth it never ends”,
Lovely blog Joel and like you I have learnt to not ‘sweat the big stuff’. Simply by making the self-loving choices to change the ‘small stuff’ it has had a knock on effect of my views about the ‘big stuff’. As you say, the outside pressures are still there but they no longer hold sway over how I feel inside.
It really puts everything into perspective when we consider that there are small and big picture issues to deal with in life, but they have equal importance when we make love the starting point and our ‘true north’, the direction to which all decisions are made and can be discerned from.
I totally agree Jonathan. I find myself looking at what I still “want” to change but it is so much more important to appreciate all the changes I have already made and build from there.
What a timely reminder to focus on love as the start and end point with no beginning or end only a deeper connection and expression of love. Sometimes when life seems too challenging it’s easy to want to throw your hands up in the air and say it’s all too hard but I find it’s when life appears too easy that I sabotage myself instead of enjoying and appreciating and allowing more of the same. Making life all about the small things that I can control or choose for myself helps me to stay aligned and connected to love rather than switching on and off from it.