Everyone’s childhood is a series of joys and losses. One of our tasks as adults is to sort through our childhood experiences and make adjustments to our behavior. The following excerpt from my next book (Traveling Light, Moving Our Awareness Beyond the Five Senses) describes how childhood experiences can be both barriers and opportunities:

A’riquea: Everyone, on their human journey, has to figure out how to become open to the Love of the Universe. This is the greatest Love, and it is unconditional. It is always present. Once this is experienced, it is easier to forgive the imperfections of other humans.

Early unconditional love from a parent or caregiver boosts a baby’s ability to recognize spiritual Love. This can also become a barrier to discovering Universal Love in adulthood, if the person comes to believe that this Love always comes from another person.

Only under significant circumstances can another human provide truly unconditional love. Being parented without unconditional love can encourage a child to put up barriers, but it can also enhance the ability to find spiritual Love in the Universe, outside of their strings-attached relationships with others.

It is not that one way is better than the other. It is up to each person to find their way within their own circumstances. The circumstances are all different. The outcome––opening to spiritual Love––is the same. This is a good application of the One Mountain idea: some people are walking, some are riding a donkey, but everyone is climbing the same mountain. We cannot judge others for the way they are traveling. We can smile when we meet them on the way. Have joy in your heart at the opportunity to make this journey. Believe. In the Love of the Universe, and in the journey that opens to it.