For Love or Applause? The Wisdom of Anthony DeMello
In today’s sharing, I begin with a small, honest moment: a candlelit guitar, an impulse to share, and the laugh that followed when I noticed how quickly the desire for approval appeared. That small recognition spilled over into our random book selection, a pocket copy of Anthony De Mello’s The Way to Love, where the pages fell open to a passage that cuts straight to the heart: we so often fill our emptiness with people, and in doing so we give them the power to shape our moods, choices, and sense of worth.
This episode contains a full reading of the passage: Show No Partiality, page 87, a brief reflection on choosing the joy of practice over the scorecard of approval, and a closing prayer. If the reading lands on you, consider journaling this question: "Where in my life am I doing for applause — and where am I doing for the love of it?" Sit with whatever rises.
I invite you to listen to the podcast where I share with an open heart and gentle curiosity — let the words fall like a small stone into your still waters. Notice the ripples. Receive what needs receiving. If nothing stirs, that too is welcome."
May you be freed from doing for applause and learn instead the fierce delight of doing for love alone: the breath, the song, the small work offered simply because it brings you alive. Let awareness loosen whatever holds you and let the joy of a task done for its own sake become your passport to loving without need.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti…
