What a Child Taught Me About Love

I have been exploring Love.

Not romantic love, but Love with a capital L—the love that is our true nature. The love that exists beneath all of our stories, identities, and conditioning.

Over the past five months, I have attended two retreats centered around this exploration, and they have touched me deeply.

We explored how, as young children, we naturally embodied love. We were open, curious, present, and connected. But as we grew older, we slowly moved away from that essence. We developed beliefs about ourselves, adopted conditioned patterns, and created self-images that shaped how we moved through the world.

This exploration has felt incredibly sweet.

It feels like a gentle melting or dissolving back into love. Awareness quietly observes the beliefs, fears, and conditioning, while Love remains constant—always present beneath it all.

Then, this week, the Universe gave me a beautiful gift.

I was sitting in my favourite take-out restaurant waiting for my order when I noticed a young girl, perhaps nine or ten years old, sitting nearby. She was helping a younger child—who I guessed was her sister—eat her meal. We smiled at one another.

A few minutes later, as her family was leaving, she stopped in front of me, looked directly into my eyes, and said, "You are lovely."

I smiled and thanked her.

Then she said, "You have beautiful eyes."

Again, I thanked her and said that it was so kind of her to say that.

There was something extraordinary about the way she spoke. She was completely present.

Her presence felt grounded, open, and pure.

After she left, I sat there thinking, What a gift.

It honestly felt as though I had just been in the presence of a wise sage.

There was no self-consciousness. No agenda. Just pure seeing.

And it touched me deeply because this is exactly what I have been exploring.

As adults, so many layers of conditioning begin to obscure how we see ourselves, one another, and the world.

I often imagine these layers as countless transparent overlays stacked one upon another. Eventually, we forget we are looking through them. We assume what we are seeing is reality.

Our Inner Critic can judge us harshly. Without realizing it, we project those same judgments (big or small) onto the people around us—even complete strangers —and onto the world.

In doing so, we become disconnected from our true essence and from one another.  

The wonderful truth is that we can return.

We can come home to Love.

That, to me, is the journey of self-discovery.

And as we begin to remember who we truly are, our very presence becomes a gift. Without saying a word, we naturally affect those we encounter. Love ripples outward.

I am deeply grateful for this unexpected encounter with a young girl whose simple words became a profound teaching.

And I am excited to continue this exploration.

Before I finish, I would like to offer a prayer.

May we hold in our hearts all those who have been impacted by the wildfires in Northern Ontario—those who have lost their homes or communities, those who have been forced to evacuate, and all who are living with uncertainty, loss and trauma.

May we pray for Mother Earth—for the forests, the rivers and lakes, the birds, the animals, the plants, and every living being affected by these fires.

May healing begin.

May we treat our land with love and respect.

May we treat ourselves and others with love and respect.

May Love guide us all.

With Love,

Diane