Expanding Our Capacity to Love

Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Pichaya Avery

“Soul exists because God loves it.”
The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad Book 1, p. 120

Every day, my husband, Mike, and I open a book at random during our morning contemplation. We usually alternate between Spiritual Exercises for the Shariyat book One and book Two. One of the exercises suggested focusing on Divine Love, and we asked our Inner Teacher, “How can we love you more?” 

Later that cold and rainy morning, Divine Spirit sent us some unexpected visitors to show us how to expand our capacity to love. 

As I was preparing breakfast for Mike, I noticed some black ants marching down a wall and crawling all over the counter. There were about 30 of them. Feeling irritated by their presence, I asked them, “Why are you here?” 

Suddenly, I remembered my favorite phrase from The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad: “Soul exists because God loves it”¹ and heard my Inner Teacher whisper, “What would Love do?”

The answer was clear—Love would show respect. Love would nurture. Love would care. 

Consequently, I scooped up a spoonful of honey, put it in a Mason jar lid, and placed it near them in the corner of the counter. A few minutes later, Mike stepped into the kitchen and suggested a different way to make life easier for the ants—replacing the lid with a piece of parchment paper.  

Then, I also heard from my Inner Teacher, “Use baking soda and vinegar to repel them.” 

Following the instructions, I soaked paper towels with vinegar, sprinkled some baking soda, and placed them around their “dining area.”

After I created a barrier and separated the corner from my work area, I spoke to them politely, “Please stay here in your corner of the kitchen. We can share some space.” 

Most of them seemed to listen to me very well; however, there were a few who did not. When they wandered off, Mike and I would place a piece of paper in their path, let them climb aboard, and shuttle them back to their corner.

Every day, we enjoyed watching them savoring their food. They stood in a circle enjoying their delicacy. Mike would ask each morning, “How are our new pets doing today?”

The ants stayed with us for two weeks. The large drop of honey became smaller, and we smiled knowing that we had done the right thing by adopting these new friends. 

When it stopped raining and the outside temperature warmed up, the ants disappeared. We missed them. 

If we hadn’t asked the important question, “How can we love you more,” we would have responded to the situation differently. We would have searched for ant traps, toxic sprays, or other ways to send them off to Ant Heaven. 

But something shifted. We now see them as friends and welcome them into our kitchen with open hearts and a spoonful of honey when they need food and shelter. 

From this experience, we learned how to dance with the ants in the rhythm of life as they taught us how to expand our capacity to love. In addition to food and warmth, our visitors also received an unexpected gift—Divine Love.

It all began with this spiritual exercise: “How can we love you more, Beloved Teacher?”

1. The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad Book 1, p. 12

More of Pichaya Avery’s posts can be found here.