The Gift of Love

These poems are about the power of love in changing our lives for the better by encouraging us to follow our hearts and dreams in guiding us to find our unique destiny. Love also enables us to reach our full human potential by cultivating compassion for all the living beings on our great planet thus expanding our consciousness and appreciating the true miracle that all life is.

Today, I see a lovely flower

and look at it as if for the first time.

I see how beautiful my child is

and thank God for the most precious gift

which he has given me.

I look at her soft, radiant eyes and

her sweet little face;

I feel her little body wrapped in my arms...

so grateful to have her to love and to hold.

Let me realize just how valuable is today...

to explore my talents,

no matter how they may be judged;

free me from restraint to tell those that I love,

to fully experience the breadth

of my humanity...

not to cower in a corner-

always afraid to reach out

or speak what I believe to be true.

Awaken my spirituality,

let me experience what it is like

to stand on a mountain top-

filled with a moment of eternity,

to feel part of what was before...

now... and will be.

Let something of me remain after I'm gone-

to reveal that I lived and had something to say.

Give me insight to see before I act

so as not to cause another pain or injury.

Let me have empathy for all sentient beings...

to realize there's a sanctity about all life,

and let not money or power corrupt my soul...

help me today to stop excusing my limitations

by accepting the challenge to

change and become a better person.

-Lora Hollings

This is a video which shows how we can choose to live our lives with love and create a more peaceful world uniting us all as one people who can tackle important challenges of the future such as climate change, saving our wildlife, and our planet. We have the choice to create a brighter tomorrow for our children and future generations- a world where there's no place for hatred or violence toward any living being. A world where we all learn to respect each other for the special gifts that we have and where all people have a chance to contribute these gifts and lead rewarding lives.

Surely this must be heaven...

when I can look up into the treetops

and see the light rays streaming

through gently swaying leaves.

Surely this must be heaven...

when you hold me in your arms

with such tenderness,

and I hear the beating of your heart

so close to mine.

Surely this must be heaven...

when my little dog

with his calming presence

helps to relieve the burden of my worries

and loves me so devotedly.

Surely this must be heaven,

when I feel my child

in the grasp of an embrace...

and I thank God

for the precious gift of life-

to feel the miracle of love.

~Lora Hollings

Animals also show an amazing capacity to form deep bonds of affection with each other even with members from another species enriching their lives as well.
We see in this video of a true friendship between a dolphin and a dog that these animals' affection for each other not only parallels our own but that they have the capacity for empathy or the ability to understand and share the feelings of others too. Thus we cannot limit the capacity to feel love only to human beings.

Cat befriends dolphins in this charming video which shows that animals, once again, can develop bonds of friendship with each other even crossing the boundaries between species. Maybe animals can teach us to be more tolerant of our differences, and instead connect with others on a deeper, more spiritual level.

"The love we give away is the only love we keep."
-Elbert Hubbard

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."
-Siddhartha Buddha

Love does not dominate. It cultivates.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

"Compassion is the chief law of human existence."
-Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like no one is watching."-Randall G. Leighton

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."
-Ashley Smith

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."
-James Dean

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."
-Flora Whittemore

"I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works."
-Oscar Wilde

"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live."
-Maria Robinson

Looking back, I have this to regret: that too often when I loved, I did not say so.
-David Grayson

Love does not dominate. It cultivates.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Love does not die easily. It is a living thing. It thrives in the face of all life's hazards, save one: neglect.
-James Bryden