{"id":28,"date":"2013-09-27T23:04:27","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/heartofthesoul\/?p=28"},"modified":"2013-10-04T05:27:10","modified_gmt":"2013-10-04T05:27:10","slug":"the-common-thread-that-ties-us-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2013\/09\/the-common-thread-that-ties-us-together.html","title":{"rendered":"The Common Thread that Ties Us Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Love<\/a>Over the past couple of years, through my own inner growth and through connecting with many others, I\u2019ve come to realize that there\u2019s one common thread that ties us together:<\/p>\n

Love.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s it. Everything comes back to this. It seems so simple, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

And it is. If we choose for it to be.<\/p>\n

Because here\u2019s the thing: in order to bring love into our life, we have to (absolutely have to) choose to open our hearts.<\/strong> We have to consciously decide to let our past hurts remain in the past and not move into our present and future. We have to let go of any blocks and barriers that may be keeping us from fully experiencing love here in this moment. We have to begin to look at life through a lens of love and kindness rather than a lens of fear and anger.<\/p>\n

We have to.<\/p>\n

Love is always all around us. Love is always available to all of us.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

But only if we let it in. If we choose to open up to it. If we choose to embrace it rather than push it away.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I spent many years closing my heart to love. Even while I was in relationships, I wouldn\u2019t allow myself to fully trust or fully love. I was afraid that I would get hurt. I was afraid that my heart would break and would never be able to be put together again. So I continued to love a little but not fully. I mastered putting one foot in but not two. I learned how to crack open the door to my heart but not open it all the way.<\/p>\n

Rather than keeping me from getting hurt, living in this closed-off way caused me to feel so alone. I was trying to protect myself and ended up hurting deeply by creating a barrier between myself and everyone else. No one could penetrate this wall that I had put up. I had created a life that made me feel absolutely miserable \u2013 no love could get in.<\/p>\n

When I met my husband, I immediately felt my walls begin to crumble. I knew that I had met my match in every way, and I could feel the goodness pouring out of his soul. I loved how I felt when I was with him. I loved feeling loved by him, and I loved loving him. For the first time in my life, I chose to open my heart completely to someone else. I chose to embrace this love rather than hide from it. And it was the best choice that I have ever made. That was almost 12 years ago, and almost every minute of every day since we met has been spent together – loving each other.<\/p>\n

Our love is a miracle in my life \u2013 it has helped heal every part of my soul. And it didn\u2019t just stop with us. Our love helped me expand who I was able to love and how much I would be able to give to them. It opened my heart so much that I now feel an infinite supply of love coming into me and moving through me at all times. I am able to offer this love to thousands of amazing souls on a daily basis, which I never could have done when I had kept my heart closed off to love.<\/p>\n

Love is so powerful. Love not only changes lives \u2013 love is<\/i> life.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

And wouldn\u2019t we all choose to feel alive if given the choice?<\/p>\n

I definitely would. And I have a feeling that you would, too.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re ready to embrace your life and let love in, I invite you to make a decision to open up to love.<\/strong> Declare it for yourself right here in this moment. Allow it to come into your heart. Allow it to flow out. Allow yourself to see it as the miracle that it is \u2013 to let it wash over you and heal your soul. Allow it to soak up all of the hurt and the anger and the pain and the sadness inside of you.<\/p>\n

I would love for each of us to walk through life knowing just how loved we are \u2013 by our friends and our family and our higher power and our angels and our loved ones who have passed before us and our pets and each and every single person on the planet. And I would love for us to allow ourselves to love others fully and completely. To trust that there is an infinite supply of love. To trust that the more love we give and the more we receive, the more love there is to give and receive. To remember that at our core, we are each connected by this same thread of love.<\/p>\n

When Lenny Kravitz said that we\u2019ve got to let love rule, he definitely was onto something. I\u2019m taking his advice and would love for you to join me.<\/p>\n

Hugs,<\/p>\n

Jodi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"about
\n<\/a>Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and a soulful community builder.\u00a0She lives her life with love and faith in the driver\u2019s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul\u2019s whisper and create our best lives. She would love to connect with you!<\/p>\n

Website<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Angel Fund<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Free Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past couple of years, through my own inner growth and through connecting with many others, I\u2019ve come to realize that there\u2019s one common thread that ties us together: Love. That\u2019s it. Everything comes back to this. It seems so simple, doesn\u2019t it? And it is. If we choose for it to be. Because…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,3,7,8],"class_list":["post-28","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-heart-of-the-soul","tag-jodi-chapman","tag-love","tag-opening"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Common Thread that Ties Us Together - Heart of the Soul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2013\/09\/the-common-thread-that-ties-us-together.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Common Thread that Ties Us Together - Heart of the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the past couple of years, through my own inner growth and through connecting with many others, I\u2019ve come to realize that there\u2019s one common thread that ties us together: Love. 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They share their lives with three wonderful cats: Biddle, Buncom, and Elsie. She would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter! And you can also join her Soul Speak community: www.jodichapman.com. 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