dr tina tessina

You Are a Gift

January 04, 20264 min read


YOU ARE A GIFT

Each of us is individual, special and different for a reason: You are a gift to the planet. Each of us is also a miracle. We grow from tinier seeds than plants do, from a miracle that combines the DNA from each of our parents to create the unique miracle each of us becomes. And we pass the miracles on. Each time we are kind and loving, every time we help and care for one another, each time we have a new idea, or create something, we are participating in the larger miracles of life. We are the angels who bring the miracles to life. What an awesome, inspiring and joyous thing it is, this astounding life we get to be a part of.

Anthropology tells us we are different because we survive better that way—the recombining of genes in sexual reproduction makes us a stronger species than cloning would.

However, that doesn’t account for the beauty of our differences. Each of us is a special package, a gift to the planet. If you’re looking for a reason for your life, look into your gifts. The whole point is to discover what you have to give, and to give it as effectively as possible.

I believe I came into this planet to heal: First, to heal myself and learn to value who I am, then to help heal the planet, one person at a time. (I don’t expect to get it done in one lifetime).

Healing is an art; not just a science or a technology. It’s not enough to throw the latest scientific discovery or medical advance at the problem: you have to get into all the messy, bleeding, hurting parts, sort out the problem, and clear the blocks so the healing can begin.

All my experience, personal and professional, verifies that this is the only way it can be done. There are many different paths that can be used to get into the healing mode, and they all lead to the same place: love. Healing only takes place in an atmosphere of love. My clients heal as they learn to love themselves, and demonstrating love to those around you will create a healing atmosphere. But what is love?

Love is a confusing word. We use it to mean obligation: “If you love me you’ll....” We use it for dependency: “I love you, I can’t live without you.” We use it for ownership: “We’re in love, we belong to each other.” We use it for charity: “I do this for you because I love you.”

I want to see love freed. I think the world exists on love, and that it is love which binds us together.

Science has not yet understood the mysterious force which holds the tiny particles of the atom together, and thus holds everything in our physical world together. Pretend with me that the binding force is love: If that were true, then we’d each be an expression of love and surrounded by love. The phrase “God is love” would take on new dimensions.

We would be free and able to let our partners be free, because we would not have to do anything to be bonded. And we would not have to prove to ourselves that we love—it would be obvious to all around us. We could let our partners be different without being scared—just as protons and neutrons are different and express themselves differently, yet remain bonded.

So, I talk frequently about love, and as much as possible, walk my talk. I want my life to be about freeing love. I believe love grows out of freedom, that free beings are open to loving and being loved. It is not possible to push or force people into loving. The only thing that works is leaving enough room for love to grow.

The more free people there are, the more love will be freed in the world. I invite you to join me and use your gifts to create as much non-demanding, non-possessive love as we can in the world. I wish you a life full of loving and being loved.

Adapted from: 52 Weeks to Better Mental Health: A Guided Workbook for Self-Exploration and Growth

52 Weeks

Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D. (www.tinatessina.com) is a licensed psychotherapist in S. California since 1978 with over 45 years’ experience in counseling individuals and couples and author of 18 books in 17 languages, including Dr. Romance’s Guide to Finding Love Today; It Ends With You: Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction; The Ten Smartest Decisions a Woman Can Make After Forty; The Real 13 th Step, How to Be Happy Partners: Working it Out Together; How to Be a Couple and Still Be Free, Money, Sex and Kids; 52 Weeks to Better Mental Health, and her newest, Stop Overthinking. She writes the “Dr. Romance” blog (drromance.typepad.com) and the “Happiness Tips from Tina” email newsletter. Online, she’s known as “Dr. Romance” Dr. Tessina appears frequently on radio, TV, video and podcasts.

Dr Tina Tessina PhD, LMFT (Dr Romance)

Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D. (www.tinatessina.com) is a licensed psychotherapist in S. California since 1978 with over 45 years’ experience in counseling individuals and couples and author of 18 books in 17 languages, including Dr. Romance’s Guide to Finding Love Today; It Ends With You: Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction; The Ten Smartest Decisions a Woman Can Make After Forty; The Real 13 th Step, How to Be Happy Partners: Working it Out Together; How to Be a Couple and Still Be Free, Money, Sex and Kids; 52 Weeks to Better Mental Health, and her newest, Stop Overthinking. She writes the “Dr. Romance” blog (drromance.typepad.com) and the “Happiness Tips from Tina” email newsletter. Online, she’s known as “Dr. Romance” Dr. Tessina appears frequently on radio, TV, video and podcasts.

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