The Essence of Humanity: Love's Unconditional Reach - Tales of Generosity and Understanding

This evening (June 22, the year 2016), an old woman that I used to give rides to go shopping knocked at my door and said that she had not seen me in six months and asked where I was; I told her that I was out of state. She said, may I come in and I said yes. She came in and told me that she wants to ask me a favor. I said that I am all ears. She said that she has not been eating well and asked if I could help her out. I said yes. She gave me a list of groceries she wanted to buy and said that she does not have the money to buy them. I accepted the list and told her that I would go buy them for her tomorrow; it is about one hundred dollars. I had her come into my kitchen and take whatever canned foods she wanted. She filled grocery bags. She said that she has not talked to anyone in months and said that she wanted to talk to me. I said that I am willing to listen. After all I am a psychotherapist and made my living by listening to people.

This woman sat there for three hours pouring the story of her life to me, including her trips to psychiatric hospitals for depression…I am not doing clinical work here but if I put on my clinician’s hat I would diagnose her as having major depression with paranoid features; she has loads of fear of people and thinks that they could harm her; I would recommend some of the anti-depressant medications, such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft for her.

I said nothing beyond asking leading questions to get her to talk. Well, I listened and finally escorted her to her apartment and promised to go buy the groceries she wanted and give her some money, may be a hundred dollars that I would withdraw from my bank. Am I doing this out of love? No. I simply helped a fellow human being. Whenever I am driving and stop at a stop light and some ragged looking person comes to my car’s window asking for money, I open my wallet and if there is money in it I give whatever money is in it, usually five or ten or twenty dollars to him or her.

At a deep level we are all joined, in love with one another. Love is not earned but known when we remove our egos. Her list included buying packets of cigarettes for her. I will not buy cigarettes for her, not because of the cost but because I do not approve of any one smoking, doing drugs or drinking alcohol. I draw the line there; one should not abuse one’s body and mind with these poisons.)

In love you do nothing; love is not earned. Love is who we are. Remove your ego and body and you instantaneously know that you are in God and in love.