“When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you… For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth…” ~ Kahlil Gibran

The call of love

When my mentor and spiritual teacher, Dr. Wayne Dyer was alive, he used to talk a lot about St. Francis of Assisi. How this beautiful Saint impacted his life and spiritual journey, and how he became a completely different person because of him. 

St. Francis played a huge role in Wayne’s life. And through his great love and timeless teachings, he led us along a path that helped us to experience the transformative power of that love… the love Wayne felt for St. Francis, and the love St. Francis felt for Wayne. 

Love united them both into Oneness. And as they became One with that love, all those in close proximity—myself including—began to fall deeper and deeper into that love, until there was no longer a feeling of separation, only Oneness.

How Love Changes Everything

“The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” ~ Rumi

After being in the presence of that love for so long, I felt how St. Francis became a part of me, just as I have always been a part of him. And as strange as it may sound, I felt as though I knew him more intimately and more deeply than my own family and friends. 

He become my Family! 

His Light became the light that was guiding my steps to my own Light—away from a world of the senses, to a world beyond the senses… Away from a self that was bound by space a time, to a Self beyond space and time. 

His peace became my peace and his love, my love. And this love… this great, great love began began to tear me apart—not to hurt and harm me, but to free me from everything that was not Real in me.

I was brought to mu knees—over and over and over again—to be reminded not to hold onto things that are born only to perish. Not to cling onto the temporal, but to seek that which is Eternal.

Lose yourself to this Love

“Lose yourself, Lose yourself. Escape from this earthly form, For this body is a chain and you are its prisoner. Smash through the prison wall and walk outside with the kings and princes. Lose yourself, Lose yourself at the foot of the glorious King. When you lose yourself before the King you will become the King. Lose yourself, Lose yourself. Escape from the black cloud that surrounds you. Then you will see your own light as radiant as the full moon… What is your life about, anyway?— Nothing but a struggle to be someone, Nothing but a running from your own silence.” ~ Rumi

It all happened way before I even began to realize that it was happening. And as I look back at all those years of pain, struggle and despair… Those many moments when I felt deserted, lost and all alone, I can’t help but wonder: How come I couldn’t see it back then? How come I didn’t know what was truly happening?

But I guess that’s how life is at times. 

Things happen and we can’t seem to understand the reason why. People, places, things and experiences we once loved and deeply cherished disappear as if they never even existed. They walk away, or they are violently taken away from us. And we can’t help but suffer deeply. We can’t help but feel mistreated and betrayed.

It happens to all of us. None of us is ever excluded—even though we desperately try to fight it.

But if we hold onto our faith... if we surrender and release our clinging… if we make an effort to keep our hearts lifted and our minds focused on something far greater than our fears, we will soon come out of our many pains and trials. And looking back we will realize that none of it was meant to hurt us. It was only meant to free us from everything that was not Real.

Hold back nothing of yourself for yourself

“Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi

This is what St. Francis taught me. This is what his love did to me. And although I did not realize it when it first began to happen, I now know that it was all for my best and highest good.

I wasn’t being punished. I was being liberated from everything that was not Me. And through the love I felt for him, and the love he always feels for humanity as whole, I found strength to carry on—even though a lot of times I felt I couldn’t.

Hold back nothing of yourself for yourself

To think you are alone in this world is to think wrongly. For we are never alone!

Help, love, and support is always being offered to us. But we have to be open and receptive to this love. We have to surrender our will to a greater will, and we have to humble ourselves before our divinity by making peace with this idea that maybe, just maybe we don’t have all the answers. That maybe, just maybe, we don’t know it all.

And that’s okay. No shame in that.

Because a Power far greater than ourselves knows everything and is always ready and willing to lead the Way—away from our fear and sufferings, back into a place of love, rest, safety and peace. And all is asked of us is to surrender, trust, and let go.

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