True love has no bounds. Its potential is limitless. The shape it takes in life is exactly what we need, whether it appears powerful or in need, nurturing or giving us space, masculine or feminine or a mix of both. True love is happy to be only feminine, or to celebrate its shapes in less capable or “weird” forms. Everyone is a shape of True Love. We are all what a shape of True Love looks like.
In our mostly patriarchal society the shape of love that has been emphasized over others is what I call athletic love. This is the love that is aligned to a high principle, can accomplish tasks well, is goal oriented and purposeful, forward thinking and has no weaknesses or socially unacceptable traits. It is the love from which others are made fun of when they don't align. It is a dominating love since its primary identity is that it competes to be the best. This athletic love is a true love on its own, but when it doesn't know how to accept the forms of love that are its shadow or those that just exist outside its world view, it can become a powerfully destructive force that suppresses creativity and anything that is not it.
The way athletic love heals is to learn how to be in community, how to let go of competition, and feel that the other loves that don't love the way it does are also love. This is a powerful discovery that shifts its perspective to a broader and deeper field of possibility of love, one that is more in touch with True Love. It is indeed possible for athletic love to know and love non-athletic love, if we are patient with them and keep showing that we are love as well.
There are indeed many great things to learn from athletic love, for in its pure form it is a pure form of True Love. In fact our fullest expression spiritually will most likely embody aspects of athletic love through great capacity, alignment with moral principles, and great drive and purpose. However, True Love, who animates our hearts, knows that all that we are, athletic or not, is a complete and full expression of True Love. May we know the athletic love that guides the collective consciousness of most of our society, that we may also know the un-athletic parts of who we are that are equally valid and meaningful expression of True Love.