What is this thing called love? It can’t be seen or understood clearly yet many say they feel it. Some say they give and receive love, as if it were a present in a box. Yet others say they choose to love, as if it were an action or activity. In the past century or more, many songs have been written with the lyrics, “Love makes the world go ’round”; but what does that mean?

The Mysterious Forces of the Universe

Songs of love and heartbreak originate from a longing to be united with that one special person. The person we can cherish and be equally cherished by. The place we can call home because we feel safe and accepted. Who doesn’t want to be loved? Is it only hormones and survival that compel us to seek a mate, or is there a greater force at work?

Origin, division, union is a pattern in the universe that Rev. Sun Myung Moon describes in the Divine Principle. It is the pattern that creates the process of existence, growth and development in all things. People of faith understand that everything originates from God, or a creative source. In the Bible, God is called love. But few understand the dynamics of the universe  that are in fact the evidence of love.

It All Happens at the Same Time

Entrenched in the pattern of origin, division and union (ODU), are the forces of “give and take action”. The cycles of continuous giving and receiving, seeking and finding, separating and coming together, are both the cause and the effect of ODU.

We are born in a state of needing love and care and we grow in relationship with others. Seeking to learn, to accomplish and to give back propels us forward. We hope to die surrounded by loved ones, and we hope we will see them again. Our individual uniqueness is absolutely necessary in this process, while we continuously seek to reunite.

Love One Another, by Khalil Gibran

This mysterious process of independence and interdependence can be called love. It is so elegantly expressed in this poem by the Lebanese artist and poet famous for the book, The Prophet.

“You were born together, and together you shall be forever more.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup, but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”