This is a very beautiful article by Swami Vivekananda—
I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me.
I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me.
Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she
filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it
before me, and said this:
“You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It
symbolizes Love.”
This was how I saw it:
As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to
remain there, it will always be there. However, if you
attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it,
it will spill through the first cracks it finds.
This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet
love…they try to posses it, they
demand, they expect… and just like the water spilling out
of your hand, love
will retrieve from you. For love is meant to be free, you
cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow
them to be free beings.
Give and don’t expect.
Advise, but don’t order.
Ask, but never demand.
It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a
lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To
truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations
from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.”