The Sweet Loneliness of Intimacy

We take a break from our series on Tibetan Buddhism for a reflection that seems appropriate for Valentine’s Day:

“Intimacy could be described as our capacity for closeness and tenderness toward things. It is often revealed in moments of risky self-disclosure. Intimacy lets itself out and lets the other in. It makes all love possible, and yet it also reveals your utter incapacity to love back as the other deserves. Intimacy therefore encompasses a loneliness, but a sweet loneliness. In intimate moments, you have been touched by something you cannot yet endure or carry, but you still love the touch and the invitation to carry. You are always larger after any intimate encounter; in fact, it might well be the only way to enlarge spiritually. It is always grace.”

     From Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self