Choose Love Anyway

“This feels like you,” my sweet friend Dei texted as she sent me a YouTube link last week.  She and I share an intrigue with near-death experiences. It was David Ebel’s near-death testimony on Darius J Wright’s YouTube channel. I clicked…and then watched it again. And again. It landed because it reconfirmed what I’ve believed my whole life: Love is ALL there is.

I haven’t had a near-death experience. I’ve just always had this steady conversation with GUS (God, Universe, Spirit) like She’s integrated into my DNA. Since I was little, I’ve talked to Her in my thoughts…outloud…in the car…on walks, in my dreams…wherever. 

I didn’t grow up in a house built for spiritual depth, yet somehow I found it anyway. Or it found me. There were many years when life felt like a crooked road with huge potholes every ten feet. Dips, detours, and more than a few backward steps. When I was tangled up in fear or anger, there was always a rope I could grab. Hope. I knew I would find my way back. And…always. Once you know…you know.

In the video, David talks about unconditional love not as an idea but as a presence…a truth. He says that his experience with love healed his heart…his soul…and his physical being. His words cracked me wide open in the best way. 

We talk about love all day long, and then something like that shows up and reminds you it’s not just a word or a belief. It’s a dynamic force. The kind that softens sharp edges until your breath finally comes back into your body. The kind that makes you see the magnificent person in front of you with new eyes.

The very next day, I got to practice unexpectedly.

Someone I love told me something they’d kept from me. A secret. It dropped into the room like a heavy boulder. I felt it in my chest first. That old mix of confusion and hurt rose up fast. Part of me wanted to say, “Why didn’t you tell me?” with all the heat those words can carry. I also saw the shame in his face, and I knew I didn’t want to add to it. David’s words were still in my ears. My own WILDD Hearts work was standing right beside me. So I paused.

I let my shoulders drop and relax. Hand on heart. One deep breath. “GUS, help me choose love over anger.”

Then the right words came, simple and honest: “I’m so confused.” “Help me understand.”

That was it. No lecture. No icy silence. Just curiosity with a soft place to land.

Something shifted. I could feel it. His body loosened as he told his truth, and I listened silently. My heart breathed. The air changed. The disappointment started to fade because truth sat down with us, and it didn’t need to shout. I saw him again, not as the mistake but as the person I love…a divine soul. 

In the grand scheme, I knew this was a small thing…but also “everything”. Because every time we choose love, we change the energy in the room. We breathe easier. We tell the truth without burning down the house. We leave each other better than we found each other.

I keep thinking about how often these little tests show up. Not the dramatic movie moments. The everyday ones. The text you could chose to read uncharitably. The snappy tone at the end of a long day. The thing you forgot to mention because it felt uncomfortable. The mind can turn those false stories into mountains. 

Or love can make them human again.

Love doesn’t mean we skip consequences or swallow our voice. It means we bring our voice with kindness. It means we say the simple, steady thing instead of the sharp, unkind one. It means we remember who we are and who they are, even when it stings.

If you’re like me and you want something practical to hold onto, here are the three quiet practices I trust:

• Pause long enough to come back to yourself. Hand on heart. One breath in…one breath out. Even five seconds helps.

• Lead with your truest sentence. “I’m confused.” “I felt hurt.” “Can we slow this down?” Plain words open you up and make room for truth.

• Ask one open question. “Help me understand.” Then listen for the answer you don’t already expect.

That’s it. Not complicated. Not easy either. But it’s simple, and simple works well.

Later that night, I gratefully thought about how often GUS has met me in regular life. Early morning tea by the window. Walking the dogs. In the shower. Nothing flashy. Just the quiet presence that reminds me to be who I say I want to be. 

David’s story didn’t give me a new belief. It strengthened the one I already live by. Love is not a concept. Love is a way of seeing. Love is an action. Love is the medicine that keeps finding me, especially when I forget.

I’m grateful to Dei for the NUDGE. Grateful to David for telling the truth about what he experienced. Grateful to Darius for putting it in our hands. 

And I’m grateful for that small moment in my own kitchen when I chose to speak from love instead of fear. That choice didn’t just soothe a tough conversation. It renewed my faith. It reminded me that the simplest path is usually the right one. 

Breathe. Tell the truth. Stay kind. Let love lead.

I don’t know what you believe about near-death or out-of-body experiences. You don’t have to agree with me. But I think most of us have felt, at least once, that sudden warmth when we drop our guard and say the honest thing. That is love doing what love does. It lifts the weight. It steadies the ground. It shows us the real person in front of us, and says, “Slow down. Take a look.  What do you see?”

So here I am, still very human, still learning, grateful to be reminded once again: in the end, and in the middle, and in the mess of ordinary days, Love is ALL there is.

With a grateful heart,

Diana
Love is ALL there is