God, it is said, is love. It is written in the scriptures and sacred texts of many traditions. It has become engrained in cultural expressions and teachings around the world.
Of course not all faiths and peoples use the word “God”. But the core concept of a higher power, a prime mover, a creator and spiritual force infused within and among all that breathes is pervasive. And love is integral to the experience and expression of this collective and connecting spiritual presence.
But what is love?
The Greeks defined multiple types of love, among them Philia (love among friends), Eros (romantic love), Storge (love of parents for children), and Agape (selfless love). A quick online search in the English language locates a range of loves that humans may experience, with descriptors such as familiar, playful, affectionate, enduring, physical, and unconditional. There is love of self versus love of others, love of ideas, love of learning, love of life. This diversity of perspective can no doubt be found in all languages and traditions. We humans are fond of distinctions, large and small. We find comfort in categorizing. We love to differentiate.
The older I get the less helpful I find such differentiation. How we enjoy our lists and classifications! I don’t begrudge the contribution that taxonomies have made; for example, our understanding of life’s evolutionary roots and developments has been advanced by Carl Linnaeus’s system of biological stratification. And the hierarchical scheme of physics, with its branches and subdivisions, has significantly advanced both our knowledge of matter and energy and our ability to translate that knowledge into practical and often (but not always) productive applications in daily life. Something gets lost for me, however, the farther we tease apart the subatomic particle universe, “flavoring” quarks and subtyping leptons into muons, neutrinos, and taos. My eyes and mind fog over when I read about subspecies of plants with variety and subvariety, form and subform. The nomenclature is useful for some scientists, I freely admit it. Yet the drive to dig deeper, to split the metaphorical hairs of matter more finely, to distinguish and name based on subtle difference leads me no closer to a capacity to embrace, accept, and identify with all life that surrounds me. It brings me no nearer a fundamental experience of love.
Scientists and science, we need you! As the world descends into a frequently manipulated chaos of so-called “facts” and truth, we must, more than ever, recognize that, yes, there is indeed objective reality. No usurper of the media bullhorn should be free to espouse lies, mistruths, and misrepresentations on climate change, pandemics, or other existential threats to our planet and its survival. There should be accountability for those who deliberately misguide and manipulate. So please keep studying, and analyzing. Keep observing and investigating. Keep exploring the edge of understanding and defending your right to present evidence on the nature of physical reality as you help us learn it. I want to keep reading and learning with you. I want to rely on you for honest and non-biased observations and conclusions. I want to be challenged by that discovery, and be free to join a communal dialogue related to the context and collaborative application of such scientific advance.
But I don’t think you will find a “God particle”. And I personally don’t hold out much hope that the stratification of a concept such as love into six, seven, or eight types will bring much benefit to our ability to know love. Because my experience of the world offers me the following simple observation: all life is connected. We are not “inter”connected. We are just connected. Whether you are holding a newborn child, the hand of a dying friend, a spouse, the outstretched bloom of a rose, a pet, or the written word of God – you are holding life. Whether you are feeling the flush of attraction, the ineffable bond of parenthood, the rapture of relax in the embrace of being – you are in, of, and the essence itself of whole. One.
Love is not simply a physical bond. It is the nature of being, of who we are and how we are. And God, at least for me, is the whole – the One – the welcome, the acceptance, the guidance within that nature.
Last night, my wife and I were talking about death. We had just watched a documentary about global beliefs related to the afterlife and, unexpectedly, I was reminded of an experience I had years ago following a blood donation. The donation part was easy. I felt fine and was having an obligatory cookie being leaving the mobile van. Suddenly, I felt very much unfine. Awful. Barely had I raised a finger to get someone’s attention when I was floating, weightless, a consciousness detached from its form. I had not died; although quite low, I learned later that I still had a pulse. But I was, most certainly, not present in my form. I recall a sense of freedom, of elevation, of release within a lightness of being. There was, also, actual light. It enveloped me as I floated toward it. I have no memory of my body. I only remember a sensation of acceptance. Of embrace. Of pure being.
When I regained consciousness within my physical form, my body was inverted on cushions in the mobile van, feet held high, ice packs and clothes stretched over my neck, arms, and forehead. With the nausea, dizziness, and cold, it frankly felt awful to be inside myself. What had just happened? How long had a been out?
“A few minutes,” someone said.
“Did I … was I … was there …?”
“That was quite the reaction you had,” another voice said.
An ambulance, an ED visit, IV fluids, and anti-emetic medication ensued. In a few hours, I was revived, and home. I was glad to be better. I was delighted to be with my family. I wasn’t sure what to make of my time between the cookie and my re-awakening. It had sure seemed like a lot longer than “a few minutes”.
There is more to being than we can define through sometimes separating delineation and differentiation. There is a totality. That totality I have come to call God. And love is the acceptance, entrance, and welcome of the whole, the One.