Love, and Love Alone, Presides
The spiritual Power above all virtues is not knowledge, but Love
”For there are these three things that endure: Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
Socrates was ultimately wrong. Love, not knowledge, is the highest.
Socrates may have been right that knowledge may be the greatest virtue, but that Love is the greatest power above all virtues. Our heads indeed may be the seat of Reason, but our hearts indeed are the abode of Love. Which is to rule? Can there be co-rule? Love, and love alone, presides.
For what is knowledge but a servant to love? How can someone come to know fruitfully and truly without a love for what and who they attempt to know. To attempt to know without love, is to entrap the new under the guise of the old, to reinforce one’s prejudices and concepts with the fitting of the novel and unfamiliar under the labels of one’s own mind. True knowing is a transformation, expansion, deepening, and elevation of the self generated from an active, honoring engagement with the Other: I and Thou, making a We. As I love you and seek to cherish you lovingly in your own right, I become more than what-I-once-was. You become more of a presence in my mind and heart and in the world. So it is.
“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16, New International Version)
Far from the derangements of religious zealotry, one Truth remains and rings true: “God is Love.” And love may be (and must be) deeply ardent, but true love is never zealous. It is not ecstatic or excited or consumed with object of desire, but rather the truth, beauty, and goodness of the SUBJECT of desire. Whether love for God, love of Nature, or love of another person, true love is not possessed and owned, but EXPRESSED and freely shared. There can be no jealousy in the Love of loves, for there is only one direction of desire— to connect, feel deeply, and share that which is God, that which is Love. All else is a hollow pretense, an insecure materialization of the eternal and immaterial force called love.
“Love is the only legacy” (received in meditation by Zeus Yiamouyiannis)
This thought was given to me in a state of reflection. I was asking the question to the gods and to God God’s self, “What lasts in a world of impermanence and change?” The answer: “Love is the only (lasting) legacy.” For what is it the remains beyond the tides of time, and the life of the sun, yet still within the world, for eternity? It is love. The love I have for my son lives in his heart, added to by his own love, rebelled against and obscured at times, but as with the prodigal son, always present and longing for reunion. The love I have for a spouse or soul friend generates a field and feeling beyond time and space, even if the relationship itself dies away and dissolves.
When the earth is nothing but dust, and our dear Sun has gone supernova in the billions of years hence, what remains but Love? For was it not Love that created the Sun and our dear Earth to begin with? Were we not created in Love, so that we may create in Love? Is not death itself merely a transformation amid the love that continues on even after we, our entire solar system, and indeed perhaps our galaxy and the universe no longer exists?
If one feels deeply and clearly into the heart of love, one can confirm the eternity of love. Love is the one thing that never dies. We can sense and know this truly, if we but receive love’s truth. Yes, our marriages may end, and our children may tragically die before us, but the love which birthed those children, and which brought two together (as naive as its forms may be) are children of a larger Love, which will forever hold and exalt every attempt at love, no matter how humble. Knowing this, we may be kind to each other’s awkward attempts at sharing and creating love on this earth.
“Love and do what you will.” (St. Augustine of Hippo preaching on 1 John 4:4-12 “Homilies on the First Epistle of John,” Tract VII, 8, Full quote: “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”)
Whenever you are given a grim choice to “be pragmatic” (and go for the higher-paying, more secure, soulfully inferior job) vs. “going with your heart” and a vocation that calls to your spirit, do not be fooled! First this dichotomy itself is deceptive: Even within a mundane job, spirit can learn, love, and exert itself powerfully and humbly. Even within a great, and high-paying job, Love itself must preside even amid the complications and possible ethical conflicts. The important thing is that Love remains at the center of all you do. If your deep, God-given love and your heart pulls you to the less pragmatic, then clear the way for it!
Second, without Love, work is merely placing empty calories on an empty plate to feed an empty stomach amid a starving soul. A decent job, with mouths to feed and rents to pay, is an earthly necessity for nearly all of us. But our soul’s calling is a VOCATION, drawing us nearer into the nectar of love, that gives life to physical arrangements and survival. I think of a good friend, Hope, who embodies her name more than anyone I know. Hope works at my sister’s vegan cafe (Portia’s Cafe) and delivers goods to the needy through her Coptic church. This IS her soul’s calling, and one can see this loving aura emanating from her being. She does not need to be an evangelical preacher at a megachurch to radiate what and who she is— LOVE SHARED (along with some of the best hugs in the city).
You may find a gnawing calling to create music, or pursue philosophy, or spread the gospel, to walk in the woods and simply be embraced by the love given freely by Nature herself. Surrender to these callings. Clear a space and time for your love! Detach from those things of lower value that swallow your time and money! Ask your heart in love what it is that truly gives you joy and make it a priority in your day-to-day decisions. This very essay I am writing you is an act of love that drew me to the keyboard to share something truthful and inspirational.
Please return the favor and share in the comments below something you love and/or are pursuing in love.
All blessings, Zeus
...left a good job in the City, workin’ for the Silicon Valley Ivy League data brokers every night and day to create an Airbnb in small town Red Rocks with the Hubtacular. Now he plays in his rock and roll band and I’m back to writing and making pictures. It’s been a struggle--the best kind--never been happier. We are building something for his beautiful and moody, brilliant kid and also our old age. We feel like “real people.” It’s all love.
There are so many gems in this essay. Love is the only lasting legacy. It reminds me of an Emily Dickinson poem,
“That Love is all there is,
Is all we know of Love;
It is enough, the freight should be
Proportioned to the groove.”
Every sound in nature is an echo of Love, yet we really can’t comprehend Love this side of heaven. But we can pursue a deeper understanding, and in that way it will leave a deep impression on our lives.
Thank you for sharing your words!