Article January 24, 1970 Issue

The Expanding Consciousness of Love

JOANNA FRESHWATER

How many people do we love? In most lives there is an expanding sense of affection. The small child loves his parents, the young adult loves a member of the opposite sex, parents love their children. One by one the list grows.

With each new expression of affection comes enlarged appreciation for a segment of mankind. The person who has been devoted to one child feels greater tenderness toward all children. An individual who has had a rewarding relationship with someone of another nationality or race or religion feels kindlier inclinations toward the whole group than he did before. Each one's life consequently includes intimations of universal love and glimpses of limitless affection.

But one of the basic premises of material sense is limitation. Every form of matter, of course, is limited in quantity and quality. Thought trained in material modes extends this sense of limitation to immaterial forces. It would confine intelligence to brain and limit its scope. It would define affection as sexual and primarily selfish.

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