Every major religious tradition in the world invites us to love and to be centered in love and compassion as we relate to ourselves and others. We been told that God is love and that we embody that love and need to let our light shine. But often we forget that light inside ourselves and fail to let it shine.
As we seek to expand the mission of inclusivity in our church, we need to kindle the love at the center of our being so we can extend it to others. We need tools to bridge the gap that often exists between us and those we are trying to reach. Here is something to try.
Simply put, there is nothing, nothing in the world, that can take the place of one person intentionally listening or speaking to another. The act of conscious attending to another person — when one once discovers the taste of it and its significance — can become the center of gravity of the work of love.
— Jacob Needleman in A Little Book on Love by Jacob Needleman
~by Carol Scott-Kassner