Do you feel the Love?

I recently attended a friend's wedding. Sat there in a small 800 year old church, witnessing this special occasion, I felt the Love. Truly. As someone who easily feels and absorbs the feelings of others (a blessing and a curse), the Love on this occasion was abundant.

Words in one of the readings, echoed those used at my own wedding, 21 years ago.

"Love is patient,?love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.?It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,?it is not easily angered,?it keeps no record of wrongs.??Love does not delight in evil?but rejoices with the truth.??It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Corinthians 13:4-7

Beautiful isn't it? It's as if Love is the path that leads us to our best qualities. To feel Love, to see the world around us with Love, is to be truly at one with ourselves and all that is around us. That's a wonderful thing to experience.

Do you to see the world through the eyes of Love each day? If only for 5 minutes?

I'm not talking about airy, fairy, fluffy lovey dovey Love. I'm talking about Patience, Kindness, Positivity, Calmness, Trust, Hope. I'm talking about knowing what's Truly Important and having the Courage and Faith to Protect it, Cherish it. To feel the Joy and Wonder of being Alive and in the presence of your Loved Ones, here on this inconceivably miraculous planet flying through endless space.

That's the Love I felt. In fact as I write this article, I feel it again. Like a wave washing over me; and in that moment I am at Peace with everything.

I guess, though, I have a unique perspective on Love, on Life. You see I once held my own life in my trembling, confused and exhausted hands. Years of stress, overwhelm, fear, fighting, pushing left me a shell of a man. For what? Shareholders? Profit? Money? An easily replaced job?

Even in this darkness, however, there was still Love, and it was out of Love that I made a life ending decision. No one should ever feel so desperate and desolate ...

I discovered, however, there is always Hope. In fact, how wonderful that the clue was in the verse above all along: Love "always Protects, always Trusts, always Hopes, always Perseveres." Sometimes we get lost and it's those who show us Love that can help.

With even just a glimmer of Love for someone, for something - there is Protection, Trust, Hope and Perseverance.

Love is a quality within each of us; and here we are still learning that it's so much more than just those four letters.

Returning to the wedding, I looked back at the wonderful manor house where the wedding reception was taking place, the light coloured stone bright against the blue sky and green grass. It was then that I felt an incredibly Grateful Heart. Grateful that I was there to experience this wonderful occasion with my wife, in this wonderful setting, on this wonderful day. You see, with every day that passes, and particularly on very special occasions like this - like my own sister's wedding, like when my nephew was born, like when my boys performed on stage together, like seeing my wife take on the world with a smile - I know how close I came to missing this; and I realise what a cloud of sadness my absence would have been on my Loved ones.

So, why do I share this?

Simple really; because I see the world through the eyes of Love, and I'm Grateful. I get it. I have a deep appreciation of how much of a Blessing Life is. The trillions of things that have had to align over billions of years to allow me to stand here on this beautiful tiny blue speck of a planet abundant with life. One microscopic thing different and we wouldn't be here, not like this. I'm not going to waste this opportunity and I don't want you to either.

I dearly want You to embrace Love and Life , so that you can travel your best path.

Now, I know life isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Our bodies get tired and exhausted, we're challenged, obstacles stand in our way, we experience sad farewells, but this Miracle of Life is still there with us every step of the way. That means Love is still here; and with Love there is Patience, Kindness, Positivity, Calmness, Trust, Hope, Courage, Faith, Protection, Joy and Wonder. That's comforting.

You see, I've come to realise there is Always a Choice. You can come up with a thousand excuses to not do something, to not embrace an opportunity, to not strive for a better life. There's a thousand excuses to stay the same, to put up with average, with stress, with overwhelm, with negativity, with a resentful life full of what ifs and if onlys.

That's actually the EASY path. It's EASY to do NOTHING different. To take NO ACTION. It's easy to FORGET LOVE. It's easy to FORGET LIFE and what it truly means. It's EASY to forget what REALLY MATTERS. We do this every day wrapped up in our bubbles and the stories we tell ourselves.

I, however, know an incredible secret. You see, I know that You are More than this. You are Stronger than this. You are more Courageous than this. Your miracle of Life wants to do more than just Exist. Your miracle of Life wants to abundantly Love, feel Joy, Wonder and bathe in how Beautiful a thing it is to be Alive. It wants to Explore.

So, if you are living a less than grateful life, day in day out, You have a Choice to make:

Take Action or Do Nothing

You don't need to know all the details or next steps. You just need to be honest with yourself for one moment and make your Choice. There's no right or wrong; my only aim here is to awaken the realisation that Choice exists. The rest, well I believe a pinch of Courage to reach out, and a healthy dose of Love can change Your world - even Change The world - it certainly Saved and Changed mine.

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Thank you to my friends for a Grateful day filled with Love.

Thank you also to my beautiful wife who reminded me that Behind the Smile and Sunglasses* I've come a long way ...

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Martin Seville?is a Breakthrough Coach, Storyteller and Mental Health Advocate.

He created?The Hero's Journey?and Stressed Dad to Calm Dad?Coaching Programmes to Empower Managers and Business Owners take Effective Action that reduces their daily Workload, Working Hours and Exhaustion.

Martin is passionate about Empowering hard working, conscientious parent Leaders and Business Owners to?Believe in Themselves?and be the?Hero of Their Story.

Ways to start your journey with Martin include:

?? Enjoy LI, FB, IG, TWR, YT, PT Social Media content.

?? Browse Martin's Website.?www.martinseville.com

?? Join the?Extraordinary Life Community .

?? ... or if you have any questions, simply message or comment.?

* Behind the Smile and Sunglasses is a widely praised article written by Martin in 2018. It was his first article describing his personal battle with Depression and Anxiety and the day that changed his life forever.