Love is nothing more than the act of giving our attention to another being. ⁠

“When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence.”⁠
~ Thich Nhat Hanh⁠
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“To pay attention means we care, which means we really love.” ⁠
~ Krishnamurti ⁠
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“Paying attention is the most basic and profound expression of love.” ~ Tara Brach⁠

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Love is not found in “I love you,” or even in feeling, which tends toward infatuation at first…it is found in caring, little kindnesses, giving space, honesty, trying and failing and trying again.⁠
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What we love, we give attention to.⁠
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That’s why it’s so important, I think, to pay attention to climate crisis—our attention will heal our earth. Same thing with factory farming, with our torturing and killing of animals, so often out of view. With our ignorance (willful) around the sick, the elderly, the vulnerable, our mis-use of patriotism to blind ourselves to past wrongs, and in so doing failing to learn from our histories. ⁠
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Love is attention.⁠
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“When we look at our own lives and at the history of humanity, we realize that hatred, anger, and all forms of dislike are a pervasive and natural part of being alive. Aversion arises because we are so deeply conditioned to feel separate and different from others. As Gandhi found, only by dedicating ourselves to some form of intentional training can we dissolve this tendency, and embrace all beings with acceptance and love.” ⁠
~ Tara Brach⁠
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