Sunday of Love

This is the third Sunday in Advent - the Sunday of Love. I've written about love before - written about my cynicism and doubt... and I have a feeling what I'm about to write will be in contrast to that... this is probably a momentary glitch in my typical negative Nelly approach to love and if you try to point this out to me later I will deny it - and if you point to this blog and say, "See - you wrote this" then I will feign ignorance and concoct some sort of plausible deniability - aliens took over my body and wrote it, it wasn't me.... or... it was the cold meds....

I wrote about one music box I had when I was little - the one that plays Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head... well I had another... it was round and it had the little Peanuts characters on the top and it played What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love. There is a line in the song about how we need love not just for some but for everyone... and I like that idea - don't think it's truly what happens... it's a nice thought though. But I do think love is what makes living life worthwhile... I think love adds the flavor and texture to an otherwise dull and listless existence. I don't just mean romantic love - there are all types of love and I think each of them is crucial. I love my children, I love my family, I love my friends. I love a chai latte from Starbucks and the sound of rain on the roof. I love the sight of snow blanketing the lawn on a silent early morning and the sting of the sun on a hot afternoon at the beach. Love can be found anywhere and in anything if we keep ourselves open and aware.

Loving one's self is the key - the seed. It grows... blooms... flourishes... and it leaves a mark on every single thing we touch. Being kind to ourselves makes it possible to be kind to others. Being patient with ourselves makes it possible to be patient with others. Loving ourselves makes it possible to love others. It just doesn't work otherwise. If the seed we plant is something other than love then all we do, all we attempt, is blackened and distorted. It's an exhausting garden to tend... it feels like a chore.

Love shouldn't be a chore - it should be effortless... simple. Yeah yeah yeah I know... loving someone takes work... it does... I'm not saying it doesn't I'm just saying it should be enjoyable work - work with a purpose... a higher purpose. I look at my children and I see the higher purpose in loving them. They are gifts... gifts from God - entrusted to me for this time here, my job being their health and welfare... to help them grow into loving people. I work to give them the tools they need, show them how to use those tools and then let them go. I plant the seed of love in them... show them how to nurture it for themselves and hopefully they will spread that love to others.

I think love is crucial in this life... I think it's the whole point. I think when we find love - love born of that seed inside of us - we have to nurture it, embrace it, appreciate it as a beautiful thing - a sunflower growing wild and large and colorful. People say love is complicated and life is messy. Perhaps. I just can't shake this feeling that it's not supposed to be. Yeah things happen in life that aren't pleasant - and we have decisions to make everyday - some pleasurable and some not... but I think loving someone transcends all that... and I think when you can find a love - a hand that you can hold - then it's imperative to keep it close to your heart.

And remember, I reserve the right to deny I said all this...