प्रेम · Prema · The slow practice
Love is the longest practice we have. These reflections look honestly at marriage, family, friendship, and the slow work of staying — and at the wisdom hidden in our heartbreaks.
“Love is not a feeling. It is a decision you make again every morning.”
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Begin with this

October 7, 2023·5 min read
Maturity doesn't always come with age. Sometimes, age shows up on its own, they say.
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Where to begin
Three reflections on love, conflict, and care.
80 of 80 reflections

What if we were never born?

And why that might not be enough. Love burns bright, but someone still has to take out the trash.

Do you think you are entirely responsible for your feelings and behavior? Here's what science has to say on this matter.

An argument doesn't have to become a wildfire. There's a better way.

How well do you know your friends, coworkers, or simply those around you?

Spirituality in its truest essence is nothing but universal love.

The fog of disappointment dissipates quickly when the sun of wisdom shines.

Have you said I-love-you to someone lately? What did you mean when you said it?

Why do some people command more respect than others?

If you let this moment slip away, it's lost forever. "Now" never comes back.

When you feel you don't belong, you feel sad, lonely and restless naturally.

You can't really move on in life unless you allow self-healing

Here's a beautiful perspective on how to recover from your personal loss

When the day arrives, in the final analysis, what will be on your mind?

Here's the secret ingredient of making a marriage work...with an insightful story from Saint Kabir's life.

Is it possible to make any child a genius or are geniuses born with a certain temperament? Here's a fascinating true story.

Here's a beautiful true story that'll make you think about love...

The yogic view of loneliness (and ways to overcome it) is quite different from our contemporary ideas.

It isn't easy but self-realization is not possible without being good.

Here's a beautiful story reminding us of what really matters in life.

To make spiritual progress, we must get out of our own way or the boulder of emotions will keep rolling back.

Managing Crisis in Relationship

Rejoicing in togetherness is akin to sitting next to a fireplace. Here's a beautiful little story...

It is quite possible for two people to be in love, be together and yet be on different paths. Love is not about constantly pleasing the other person.

Does destiny control where you'll end up or do you have free will?

With good parenting, it is possible to help a child become truthful and fearless in life.

What if your compassion is detrimental to the recipient's growth? How do you choose between being delightful and helpful?

On the journey of life, the train of happiness has no destination as such. Life is happiness.

What if Nature gave us with the same expectations as we have from others when we give them anything?

The beautiful Tao concept of Wu-Wei shows how non-action is the greatest action sometimes. Plus, an announcement...

Here are four aspects of mindful parenting capable of transforming the life of any child...

If you are going to be over protective, it'll take them much longer to be independent — emotionally and otherwise.

Love is not as much about perfection and compatibility as it is about understanding and harmony.

Here's the insightful and profound legend of Patacara with a great message, the real truth.

Do you know what a hot air balloon and a narcissist have in common? Here are my thoughts...

Friends are like different flowers in a bouquet, each one has its own beauty, fragrance and color.

Divine grace protects your tender heart from adversity like a shell shelters its inhabitant. Nature has a way.

To love is to make the other person at perfect ease in your presence, so they can be themselves.

Grief has a life of its own. Like a river charts its own course, grief too must flow before it can merge into the sea of life.

As series of drops make up a waterfall, tiny moments and experiences create what appears to be a lifetime.

Love flows without resentment like water from a mountain in the one who learns to loves himself first.

Obsessive care cripples love like excessive water destroys plants

The emotion of emptiness is not connected with all that you have within your reach. It's about your center of bliss.

Love is divine, it is innate in each one of us. Hatred, on the other hand, is something we learn.

<i>A Fistful of love</i> is my latest paperback containing fifty posts on love, relationships and life from this blog.

Do nine planets, out of the billions in the universe, really control your destiny?

For the caring heart, love knocks on the most unexpected door at the least expected time.

What do you think is the most important element in a marriage? The magic word is not love. Read on.

What I'm sharing with you today could be your mental and emotional anchor in most difficult situations in life.

Rather than being in a warm and sunny place, sometimes we end up in a cold and dark place. It has its own beauty. Such is life.

Loving and living are not synonyms. Loving may be an emotional matter but living together is mostly about practicality.

Loneliness is a natural emotion, but there's a difference between feeling lonely and being afraid of loneliness.

Here are three ways to steer your ship of life to a peaceful shore even when relationships are choppy.

Give yourself a chance to bloom and say no to an abusive marriage. Never allow anyone to crush your dignity.

Do you contain your anger or does anger contain you? Who's resting on whom?

Practice, don't preach. This is the greatest mantra of raising children and yes, give them their personal space.

If we keep holding on, it keeps getting heavier, and, once the burden is beyond bear, it makes us weak and vulnerable.

A lump of clay may be outstanding in its own right, but, ultimately it's the potter who shapes it.

Confrontation is not about putting the other person down or throwing them off balance.

There is no categorical good or bad way of parenting. As long as you are honest, you are perfect.

What can you do when an apple rots? Matters of the heart are similar. Love is something like that.

The light of love is dependent on four conditions. Fail one and it flickers, fail two and it goes away.

Making someone happy is like lighting a candle. You don't lose a thing and the light increases anyway.

If you believe in inspiring and positive mythical entities, you'll naturally feel there exist ghosts and demons too.

Function driven by form, every element of Mother Nature is a work of art; so is a woman.

A mother's love is Nature's greatest gift. Unconditional and selfless. It's beyond words.

Have you ever wondered what are you keeping in you? Are you the ever moving stream or a crumbling tree?

Make sure the light you see at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train. Life is full of conflict.

Toxic anger, like the deceptive iceberg, may appear harmless from the outside but underneath it's large and tumorous.

Anger is your boiling point. How quickly you boil depends on what fluid is in you and the amount of heat underneath.

The plane of love flies on four engines: mutual care and respect, dependability, trust, and sacrifice.

A solid relationship stands on a strong foundation. It gives you room to play and be together.

Sometimes you grow out of a relationship, there's no more joy or attraction. It's time to move on.

The wild one hunts because 1. it can, 2. it is hungry and 3. it is innate in him.

Broken marriages are of five types. Sometimes there's still light and hope but sometimes it's just an illusion.

Marriage can be like MW Radio, a little disturbance can cause great noise. Everything sounds like gibberish thereafter.

People change as their priorities change in life and when that happens, they no longer mean what they once did.

Here's a beautiful video on Mother Divine based on the soul-stirring song by Pandit Jasraj

Everyone is playing their own trumpet, beating their own drum. You can't keep everyone happy.

The more you understand yourself, the better you'll understand others.
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