Most of us think of romance in the context of falling in love in an intimate relationship, or the idealized form of something. Another definition of romance is what this class is about – the mystery and excitement of being in love with life.

In our previous class, Mystic Christ: Embodying Living Love, we heard the modern mystic, Peace Pilgrim, say with great enthusiasm when the interviewer commented that she appeared to be a most happy woman: I certainly am a happy person. Who could know God and not be joyous?

But who, if he be called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a Lover;
William Wordsworth from the poem, Character of the Happy Warrior

To love life with generosity, openness and vulnerability takes courage. Our character is forged in adversity. We were born for this strange time and if we can allow the idea that instead of living our lives that, actually, life lives us, through us, as a dynamic loving wave of energy, then we can open our hearts in joy and surf that wave with grace and aplomb.