Love is Immortal

Photo by Perry Grone

This post is inspired by a wise little being named Willow and is dedicated to all those we have lost.

“…love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing, save the limit of our sight.” ― Rossiter Worthington Raymond

Research shows that love is passed from generation to generation – it’s our noblest legacy and necessary for our very survival. Babies who are unloved fail to thrive and die. The amount of close and comforting contact that infants receive affects them at a molecular level, altering gene expression, the effects of which can last for years. Love increases resilience and is correlated with good health and longevity. When we are loved, we feel less stressed, we are better able to recover from hardship, and we are more likely to move forward from difficulties in an adaptive way. Our circle of love and support helps us face life’s challenges.

Energy is the ability to do work – it’s the transfer of some property from one object to another in order to impact it in some way. The laws of physics tell us it cannot be created or destroyed, but only transformed. Love also does work on whatever it touches – research shows us its contagious. So, if we imagine love as a type of energy, we can see it as constantly flowing around, between, and through us, changing form, being converted into other kinds of energy to do many kinds of important work. We can imagine that love has always been with us since the beginning of time and will continue to be with us as long as the universe exists. In this way, it’s clear that love never dies. How has love done its work on you? How does the love you receive flow through you? What will be your love legacy?

Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing. American Psychologist, 60(7), 678–686.

Moore, S. R. et. al. (2017). Epigenetic correlates of neonatal contact in humans. Biological and Behavioral Effects of Early Adversity on Multiple Levels of Development 29, 5; pp. 1517-1538.