Mar. 25, 2002 - 21:13 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Panoramic Love

Love is a contracting and expanding thing I think. As a little child I loved Mom and Dad, Grandma a bit later and my cousins too. My world had about seven loves plus my unknowable as yet divinity. There was no doubt in my mind that there was one who was unseen, all powerful who created this world and all that was in it. So, at this time I am going to write just about people.

Things rocked along and I had friends and occasionally thought I had lost my heart to one girl or another -- until I found it again holding all my true loves in its throbbing encasement. As I grew it seemed to me that I loved as many people as my heart would hold.

I went to work and, man oh man, I found my heart had room for one more. This girl I met became more to me than any other. My world and my heart had contracted to just one. Until I realized my love heart would stretch and rather than leaving my other loves, my family, my heart included her without reserve.

I thought that was quite a stretch and felt that no more could be loved by me. Until I was taken into the heart of her family and began to love them as sisters and brothers and an extra Mom and Dad. Now I thought surely there will be no more room for me to love anyone else. I was comfortable and happy with status quo.

Not too long after we were married the news that I would be a father in nine months was shyly conveyed to me. Somehow my love expanded to love one more. And by golly, that happened four more times.

After the fifth was in school, I felt surely there was no more room for the love in my heart than was already there.

My love was there as strong as ever, but had expanded to include more and yet more was to come. My children mated, their mates came into the family and were considered each of them one of the family. Then the grandchildren began to arrive over quite a long period of time. Love stretched yet once again, during that time our children's mates also became loved.

It could be thought that there could be no more room. But oh, yes there was, our grandchildren began to bring new ones into the world. The same thrill was there and love as it was with our first baby.

On thought I do consider love as a balloon, expanding as something more is added. The amazing thought occurred to me now, in a balloon all parts are at the same pressure, just the outside had expanded to accomodate the incoming extra. It is the same with me, my heart, my love and my vision has expanded immensely and my love is the same level as the air pressure in a balloon is the same.

Each new member of the family awes me, and there is room for yet more. And room for others not of the family too. Truly, I think it is Panoramic Love . . . . . . . .

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