What The Heart Craves

     My profession is working with children. I have been doing it for quite awhile. I was contemplating today as I am wont to do about how each of us start in this life. First we are born of course, I was thinking of how each child is born with hope. The hope that they will be loved. A baby is helpless, dependant on the adults in their life to take care of them. I currently am working with babies and one of my most favorite things to do is feeding the baby. This is pure one on one time, eye connection. Babies are so guileless they do not avert their gazes. They look at you full on, right into your eyes. When I look at their faces, their eyes, I see trust. They trust me to take care of them, a responsibility I do not take lightly. It is more than feeding them or changing their diapers, it is loving them. Some days can be very trying when they have those days of constant fussing because they are cutting their teeth or don't feel quite up to par because they have a cold. They trust me and I want to meet that trust and let them know they are special, precious, unique. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs a person needs to have basic needs met before they can advance on to the next level, then as each need is met you advance on until you reach self actualization. That is the ability to create, be spontaneous, problem solve. I agree with Maslow, you do need your basic needs met, but I don't think any of these things can be separated and that everything stems from love.
      Love in its purest form never takes self into consideration but always looks outward. Always cares about others. Always sees beyond the outward manifestation.  Foe instance one day a child put herself in a dangerous situation where she might have gotten hurt. When I asked her to get down, she defiantly look at me and said, "You're not my mother."  Rather than get upset by her sassiness I merely said, "I know I'm not your mother, but I am here to keep you safe." She looked at me, tears filled her eyes and she said, "My mother left me." It was all I could do to keep from crying myself. I simply put my arms around her and hugged her. What could I say. I wanted to impart love to her. Love is what she needed.
     Love is what the heart craves. To know you are precious, accepted just as you are, with no judgment. The Beatles sang it in all you need is love, love is all you need. It is true, love is all you need.
     I have been going through a struggle in my own heart lately. Love brings me back to where I need to be, to look outward, to care about that which is truly important. Love makes things right for me. Love reminds me I am precious, accepted as I am in my weaknesses. Love reminds me where my heart needs to be, to care about others more than myself.