There was a little girl who really wanted to receive her mother’s love. She did everything she could do, but it was never quite enough. As the girl grew older, her attempts changed. Still, the girl did not win her mother’s love, but instead her mother’s constant disapproval. The girl was very unhappy and begin to feel trapped. She tried to understand, tried to reason, but could never really make sense of it.
Then one day, the girl met a beautiful gypsy. The gypsy had a big, red jeweled heart. The gypsy could tell the girl was intrigued by its beauty. The girl asked what the jewel meant for she had never seen something so bright, bold and clear before. The gypsy said “Love”. The girl was mystified as she didn’t know love could look like this. The gypsy offered the girl the jeweled heart as a gift, for free. The girl was stunned and asked, “What I have done to earn this?” The gypsy said “Nothing. Love is free. Everyone possesses the ability to love and everyone is worthy of unconditional love. You may have this”.
The girl, amazed to tears, gratefully took the jeweled heart into her hands. As she held it, she began to feel its wonderful, warm, liberating power. She began to understand that it felt right not being earned and that it felt even better to share the love without asking for anything in return.
With this new knowledge, the girl stopped seeking love from her mother. She was simply happy and chose to share her joy with others. One day, she came home and could not find the jeweled heart. Frantic, she managed to find the gypsy. “The jeweled heart suddenly disappeared!” The gypsy replied, “Once you chose to share your love with others unconditionally you no longer needed the jeweled heart to understand your worth. The love, the worthiness, was within you all along. You have embraced this. Thus, the jeweled heart returned to where is resided all along: within you.”
“Real love inspires us to focus on giving more than getting.”