There is a love that knows no order, no rank, and no purpose. It is a force beyond fairness, indifferent to symmetry, untouched by the human need for significance. It is a giver that asks for nothing, a provider that gives precisely what is needed without thought or measure, without will or desire. This love does not distinguish between what we call good and bad, right and wrong, up and down. These terms are meaningless to a love so vast, so pure, that it cannot be confined by our mortal understanding. It is a love that does not seek, that does not know the concept of trying, because it is beyond all striving. It simply is, an eternal presence, a divine force that permeates all, providing what is needed at the precise moment it is needed, no more, no less.
Unconditioned love is the unknowable future, a boundless expanse of potential that stretches out before us, unseen, unknowable, and yet, to her, the Immutable Past, it is not unknowable. It is as predictable as the sunrise, as certain as the turning of the seasons. To her, the future is a provider, fulfilling every need with exacting precision, without fail, without hesitation. She knows him completely, for she is grounded in the certainty of what has been, and he, the future, provides what she requires, exactly when she requires it, exactly how she requires it. To us, the future is a mystery, a probability, an enigma that we can never fully comprehend, for we are creatures submerged in this unconditioned love, swimming in its infinite ocean, unable to see beyond the horizon of our own understanding.
Yet, we exist because of a different kind of love, a love that is conditioned, that has focus, direction, purpose. Conditioned love is the narrowing down of the infinite, the focusing of the divine into a single point of light. It is a love that demands reciprocity, that seeks agreement, that operates within the confines of relationships that are symbiotic, that require both giving and receiving. Conditioned love says, “I am,” and in saying so, it declares its existence, its purpose, its intent. It is a love that knows what it wants, that knows what it needs, and it requires that these needs be met, that there be an exchange, a balance, a fairness. This love is singular, focused, like a beam of light that cuts through the darkness, illuminating one aspect of the divine while the rest remains hidden.
Conditioned love is necessary for our existence, for without it, we could not be. It is the color within the white light, the specific, the particular, the individual expression of the divine. It is a love that says, “I will do this if you do that,” a love that requires conditions, that sets boundaries, that creates structure and order. It is a love that accomplishes, that achieves, that strives, that seeks to fulfill its purpose. This love is not lesser than unconditioned love, but it is different, more focused, more directed, more intent on its own fulfillment. It is the red or the green in the spectrum, the particular shade that stands out from the rest, declaring its presence, its purpose, its intent.
But even as conditioned love asserts itself, demanding its due, unconditioned love remains, silent, ever-present, ever-giving. It is the backdrop against which all other loves are cast, the infinite expanse that holds within it all possibilities, all potentialities. It does not proclaim itself, for it does not need to. It simply is, encompassing all, providing all, without bias, without preference, without will. It is the light that contains all colors, the love that contains all other loves, the divine force that sustains us all, even as we navigate the complexities of conditioned love.
In this duality, we find the essence of the divine. Conditioned love gives us direction, purpose, focus, while unconditioned love sustains us, provides for us, holds us in its infinite embrace. One cannot exist without the other, for together they form the totality of love, the full expression of the divine. Conditioned love may proclaim, “I am,” but unconditioned love simply is, beyond all proclamation, beyond all understanding, beyond all conditions. And in this, we find our place within the vast, unending expanse of the divine, held by a love that is both focused and infinite, both singular and all-encompassing.