The Brown Book Commentaries

Image 216 (Page 88a - bottom) … This picture is of myself taken shortly before
Heleana's departure in the Spring of 2005 – showing a bemused-yet-shocked
expression comprised of the bizarre mixture of sadness, relief, and gratitude I
was feeling at the time; an expression similar to the one felt by anyone who has
ever lost something they wanted dearly while simultaneously realizing that losing
that very relationship was probably the best thing that could have happened …
―Love who God tells you to Love …
And re-member that God tells you to Love everyone!‖ ~ anonymous
True enough, and yet remember – to Love another doesn‘t mean to like them, or to find them
pleasant, or to want to be with them, or to be ―in love‖ with them, or to think they are funny, or to
support the cause they support, or to condone their actions or values, or even to honor them … To
truly Love another means to reach out into their lives – especially if you don‘t like them (or find
them pleasant, or want to be with them, or ―love‖ them, or think they are amusing, or support their
goals, or condone their choices) – and LOVE them.
―Take sips of this pure wine being poured.
Don‘t mind that you‘ve been given a dirty cup.‖ ~ Rumi
Yes, and remember that we are all filled with lusts & fears & faults & flaws – that we have all
been given ―dirty cups‖ … And remember that Love is always pure whenever it is given selflessly &
actively … And remember, most importantly of all, that the dirtier the cup of the other, the more
smoothly flows the ―wine‖ of love thereto – and that the more dirty the cup of the pourer, the more
pure the ―wine‖ that is then poured thereto … In essence: regardless of the worth of the other or the
quality of your own vintage, keep pouring your wine for all who drink thereof.
“By your endurance, you will regain your Souls.” ~ Jesus (Luke 21:19)
Note first of all that what many call the ―Soul‖ is an innate facet of our existence; that it cannot ever be
―missing‖ or ―broken‖ or ―damaged‖ or ―stolen‖ … Yes, our own self-centeredness does create an
intellectual ―fog‖ or ―haze‖ between our awareness of that Soul and the unchangeable reality thereof, and it is
also True that our own selfish &/or fearful choices end up caking a thick ―sludge‖ of emotional memories
&/or smearing a thick ―tarnish‖ of addictive behaviors upon the outer shell of that Soul --- a ―sludge‖ that
keeps us from feeling the Soul‘s ever-warm call to Love, and a ―tarnish‖ that holds in that Soul‘s radiance – a
radiance that would otherwise be guiding others back to its glorious Light … And yet no matter how selfcentered
our defense mechanism might be, or how chronically selfish our actions might have become, our
Soul remain just as large and just as radiant and just as prefect and just as pure within us as it was on the day
of our conception – the day upon which we were blessed to carry its pristine, internal glow. As such, it is by
our endurance in Loving others that we regain a pure connection to our Soul, not our Souls themselves. For
in every moment of perfect Love, the Soul is completely re-turned to us – cracking the ―sludge‖ and burning
through the ―tarnish‖ to give us a glimpse once more of the Child of God we have always been … Of course,
the ego closes back around that breach during our next, inevitable slip into sin, which then allows us to
choose anew to self-sacrifice -- and thereby choose anew to free the Soul therewith … And the more we
make this selfless choice the more ―sludge‖ is chipped away and the more ―tarnish‖ is polished off, and thus
the more smoothly and the more brightly our Soul re-shines the next time Love is chosen … So it is that the
perfect brilliance that we completely free with every act of selfless Kindness glows a bit longer with each
subsequent choosing … And so it is that ―by our endurance, we regain our Souls.‖
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