This from Pema Chodron's book Comfortable with Uncertainty. There is a deep simplicity and understanding here and, I think, a profound hope for us all.
The Love that will not die
"Spritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the top of a mountain. We leave our attachments and our worldliness behind and slowly make our way to the top. At the peak we transcend all pain. The only problem with this metaphor is that we leave all others behind. Their suffering continues, unrelieved by our personal escape.
On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva (that's you, who is reading this -- Brett) the path goes down, not up ... Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward turbulence and doubt however we can. ... If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression we move down and down and down. ... At the bottom we discover water, the healng water of bodhichitta. Bodichitta is our heart - our wounded, softened heart. Right down there in the thick of things we discover the love that will not die ... This love is bodhichitta. It is gentle and warm; it is clear and sharp; it is open and spacious. The awakened heart of bodhichitta is the basic goodness of all beings."
And that is it. Nothing more. That "basic goodness of all beings" arises whether you like it or not. In other systems it is the immanent god, the lamb of god, the hope for each one of us and for the world. Call it what you like.
Go well on the journey!