Ep #349 - A Love Footprint - An Interview with spiritual teacher and author, David Cunningham
My guest for this episode of Empowering Chats is spiritual practitioner and author, David Cunningham. David has walked a path in life that has taught him to lean into the truth of who he is.
His latest book, Your Love Does Matter: A Journey to New Consciousness and Expanding Your Love Footprint, was published at the end of last year.
Why that title? Why does love matter? That’s the question I started the interview with.
David answered, “As human beings, the only time we are really joyous is when we are being loving.” He goes on to say that the great leaders of the world—the Gandhis, the Dr. Kings, the Mother Teresas—are the ones who refused not to love. In other words, their response to all situations was one that embraced love. It matters to us, to the people we interact with, and to the health of the planet. Now is the time to infuse our world with love—from our neighborhoods to our families to our leaders.
So how do you speak to people who refuse to see that love matters?
Many people can easily see where love is missing and tend to focus on the lack, or on who is right and who is wrong. David reminds us that we each have our own view of life. Your view and my view depend on where each of us is standing in any given moment. What David expresses is the importance of stepping outside the paradigm and recognizing that we could choose to lead with love.
David also encourages people to explore how they “say” what is good, bad, okay, and so on—because, in truth, nothing is inherently good or bad. It simply is. For example, music is just music. It becomes “good” or “bad” based on what we say about it—our perception of that particular music, or food, or anything else.
This pattern shows up in our thought processes as well.
David says that when we are free from judgment, resentment, and righteousness, that’s when we are truly free. The real work is not trying to become more loving—it’s freeing ourselves from the things that cause us to close our hearts in the first place.
We’ve been educated to believe that we are separate from everything else. In part, that separation happened through naming things. Once something was named, it became separate. Then we layered on labels—what is good, what is bad—and we became trapped in that paradigm. Our emotions get activated by the labeling system we’ve been taught.
Changing this approach means creating new language—language that moves away from labeling things as good or bad. It encourages asking questions and exploring new ways to communicate and understand each other.
David shares that we all have the capacity to leave a “love footprint.” The question becomes: What are we leaving behind? Love—or righteousness? Connection—or the need to be right?
As part of his morning ritual, David spends a few moments reflecting on his love footprint and what he intends to leave behind in his interactions that day. He believes that if more people became intentional about the love footprint they leave, love could begin transforming not only their immediate world—but the world at large.
To learn more about David Cunningham and purchase his book: YourLoveDoesMatter.com
To learn about David's Love Matters Global Movement: YourLoveDoesMatterGlobalMovement.com
To learn more about me and how I show up in the world visit: SusanBurrell.com
