Love is the elixir of life and the medicine that can heal any wounds.
Ask anyone who has suffered the pain of abandonment, whether from the breakup of a family or the loss of a significant other, and you’ll see in their eyes a visceral reaction of sadness and anger that tells you all you need to know about love withdrawn.
Conversely, ask someone who has found love how it feels to be loved and accepted, and you’ll see in their eyes a confidence and strength that is born of the power of receiving love from another. It is that confidence and strength that is the foundation that empowers them to be their authentic self and to live their best life.
Love withdrawn can tear down, but love freely given can build up by healing past wounds. In truth, love is the only thing that can heal a broken heart.
Love Who?
Love is not limited to romantic relationships. There are many kinds of love. There’s the love between a grandmother and her grandchild. There’s the love between friends who have years of shared experiences. There’s the love of aunts for nieces and nephews. A special love can exist between any two people.
Think of someone who has loved you. Remember the way that person made you feel. There is no other feeling like that of being loved.
What Love Can Do
Love can empower a young woman to lift a vehicle to free her father who was trapped underneath.(1)
Love can heal broken relationships, marriages and families.(2)
Love can transform people.(3)
Love can launch a movement like the Love Is Action Community Initiative, which empowers everyone in the community to help the most vulnerable of their neighbors.
Love can lead you to your purpose as in the case of Spencer Reid who became involved with Inheritance Of Hope when his mother, Janet, was suffering with end-stage cancer. As a result of IoH giving the Reid family memories to cherish for the rest of their lives, Spencer joined IoH and has dedicated his life to helping other families create those priceless memories.
Love can lead someone to open their heart and home to people in need, like the tens of thousands of foster families and Safe Families who open their homes to others every year.
Love Can Literally Heal
Love has the power to literally improve our health. A study by the University of Arizona suggests that being loved by another helps to manage the body's cardiovascular response to stress.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true as well. The consequences of love withdrawn or withheld are proven to be dismal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation (love withdrawn or withheld) significantly increases a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.
Social isolation was associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia.
Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) was associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.
Loneliness was associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.
Loneliness among heart failure patients was associated with a nearly 4 times increased risk of death, 68% increased risk of hospitalization, and 57% increased risk of emergency department visits.
This should be enough evidence to prove the power of having love in our lives. But where do we go from here?
To Give Or To Receive Love—which is first
We tend to look at love from the receiving end. It’s human nature to want to be loved. We’re born with an innate need to be loved. But let’s not waste another of the 1,440 minutes we get in a day waiting for someone else to love us. Let’s bring love into our lives by first loving others!
You already know what to do, but if you’re not sure how to begin, the new book, 30 Days to Love gives a blueprint for the first 30 days of your new life of love. In less than 5 minutes daily, you will receive an inspiration and suggested action for every one of the next 30 days. The great news is that it won’t take 30 days for love to splash back up on you! From the moment you give love to another, the cycle of love begins and love is heading toward YOU.
Start today!
(1) Story of a daughter lifting a car off her father is here
(2) An article on 5 steps to healing a broken marriage is here
(3) My own story is about transformation because of those who chose to love me into wholeness.
Rhonda Sciortino was loved into wholeness following childhood abandonment, neglect, abuse and homelessness. Her life is a testament to the power of love to heal. Love casts out fear. Love covers a multitude of wrongdoing. Love conquers all. God is Love, therefore, there is nothing more important than LOVE.
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