Love is the best medicine.
I always knew that instinctively, but I recently learned the science behind it, which makes me want to stand up on a rooftop and shout, love everybody and you’ll be cured!!!!
Could it really be that simple? Sorta, yeah.
Check it…when we fall in love or when we feel really close and loving and connected and accepted by someone, our bodies release certain chemicals. Oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, among other juicy feel-good chemicals, go racing around our bloodstream, making us feel awesome.
But here’s what’s super cool…when scientists place a few cells in a Petri dish and then douse it with those chemicals of love, the cells thrive! This does NOT occur with the control cells hanging out in the Petri dish next door, who were not the lucky recipients of the love chemicals.
Love makes cells thrive + we are made up of trillions of cells = love makes us thrive. It really is that simple. Really!
Hearing about this study reminded me of an interview where a prolific author and researcher was talking about his 25 years of research into the nature of consciousness. The interviewer asked him what he learned from his extensive studies and he said something to the effect of, “Well, I’m sorta embarrassed to say that after 25 years of research, I can boil it down to one sentence: Be kind to each other.”
Are we there yet?
One of the themes I notice with my coaching clients (and something I’ve also done a lot of) is getting stuck in destination consciousness. In other words, we want to stay positive and hopeful all the time, but, like everyone, we have good days and bad days. And on those bad days, we feel bad we’re not having a good day! We say things to ourselves like, “I’ll never get better,” or “Why aren’t all my efforts paying off?” or “I’m not good enough” or “Clearly I must be doing something wrong because I’m having a bad day and I’m symptomatic and I can’t think a single positive thought today.”
We think that in order to be “doing it right” we must be positive all the time, and when we’re not, we emotionally beat ourselves up. But this is a trap, and it’s why I’m writing this post. When we notice that our bruises were dealt by our own hands, that’s when it’s time to remember those cells in the Petri dish! Those cells thrived because they were doused in love, not self-flagellation.
So when you catch yourself going down that oft-treaded path of negativity and self-loathing, remind yourself that those thoughts and feelings are the opposite of a healing environment. If you want to heal, think LOVING thoughts. Douse your own cells in love! Accept yourself for exactly who you are in this moment.
Go on, you have my permission. Accept your circumstances. Accept that you feel negative. Embrace it. Forgive yourself for being human. Let go of needing things to be any way other than exactly as they are.
When you do this, you are creating a release in your system. You are creating the space for love to come rushing back in with all its miraculous benefits and healing powers. There is nothing you have to do or learn or be or have to deserve the full, blissful embrace of the universe’s love. All that is required is letting go.
Make the space for love in your body and your mind and your spirit today. Because where love goes, things heal.
