What does love mean to me and how do I love?
As you have guessed, our contemplations are taking us to the deepest areas of life, because for your Legacy Book to be relevant and authentic we need to find our essential truth.
Please focus this week on love. What does it mean? Is it sensation, an emotion, a verb?
In English we have just one word for a range of experiences (and it gets overused – “I love toast”, “I love my child”…), yet the ancient Greeks has 6 names for different kinds of love:
- Eros, or sexual passion. …
- Philia, or deep friendship. …
- Ludus, or playful love. …
- Agape, or love for everyone. …
- Pragma, or longstanding love. …
- Philautia, or love of the self.
No doubt other cultures have other names and meanings than ours. But what is essential to your legacy? What does love means in your lived experience?
Be wholeheartedly honest and vulnerable. Take time to explore yourself through this question.
Here I am as a younger dad, loving my children:
Here is are excerpts from my own Legacy Book:
“I have loved and been graced by being loved by others and I hold this close to my heart as a precious gift and privilege. With age, I take this less and less for granted. To be loved by anyone is such a beautiful honour.
When I was younger I was reckless with love, and would cast off attachments as though that was fine. As an older man I now see affection and love as the most essential thing to living a good life, yet it has more seriousness and consequence for me than before.
“I also know that love is all there really is – that who I am in my purest essence is radiant joyful love. And my task is to remember and live this…”