Love’s the Word
(or how LOVE could be)
First of all: thank you so much for the overwhelming response to my last post 😂 Naah, I told you already I was not really expecting much, would’ve been fun though. Anyways there’s still some time left if you change your mind! I will take this opportunity to tell you, that coming December, my publishing schedule will be different.
The Christmas Special will be a crossover for the 2 sides of my blog and I might publish some Spotlights, but the regular articles will either be short ones or not there at all. Taking some time and making room in my head for the next year. But you will undoubtedly be made aware of this all, when the time comes.
Going to talk some L O V E today. We’re all too aware of the time we’re living in and the effects are getting more and more visible around us. Of course lockdowns all over the globe would have their effects, not only on an economical level, but also on a personal level. I don’t have to look very far to see how people are struggling mentally, with all that is happening in their lives.
Now I will try my best to avoid to sound pessimistic, because that would defeat the purpose of today’s post lol. But you and I know there’s a lot of stress going around. Most people started to feel guilty on top of that, because hey ‘I am at home, basically doing nothing and still I am so tired and unfit’… It all adds up to an overall feeling of unhappiness. And the one thing that could cheer us up, to be around people who are close and dear to us. Yeah…
We all need Love. You can argue all you like, I don’t really care, but people who proclaim they do perfectly well without it, seem like liars to me and I feel they’re mostly lying to themselves. We weren’t created to be alone. Sure, everybody needs some alone time now and then, believe me I know. But we always get to the point that we just need some getting together with friends or family. Some bonding time, some hugs and encouragement, human interaction, some Love.
Nearing Christmas is not making for a nice prospect either this year. Since a lot of people who have been already suffering from loneliness might not have anything nice to look forward to either. On the other hand… We’re all getting extremely Covid tired and following the rules is becoming more and more a joke it seems. The fact that they seem to change so often is not really helping either, because you should be keeping close tabs on the news and that’s exactly the place where you will be confronted with the ‘same’ stories again and again.
So Yeah. LOVE.
When Covid started, all kinds of really endearing stories were sort of big news: people taking care of other people. Often they were strangers to each other, but the fact there were so many people who needed a little help one way or another, seem to propel others into action. Today the novelty of those actions seem to have died down a bit, though I believe there are still enough people who care. Isn’t that an accurate display of love? Doing something for someone else, you don’t even know, without wanting or expecting anything in return. Their gratitude being the biggest reward.
You can see the different texts displayed on this page are all about what Real Love should be about. Pretty sure that while reading you think it’s humanly impossible to love like that. I guess it is, humanly speaking. I know I couldn’t do it without the essential help from ‘above’. We’re all dealing with our emotions and thoughts. It’s impossible to be friends with everybody, but it seems to be possible to at least respect each other enough to not be lead by those things.
And man, it needs a lot of practice. It’s like going to the gym every day. I don’t do that and I guess most people don’t at the moment. But I believe that anybody with some common sense – wait, did I write that out loud?? – could eventually agree, that Love should not be a trade. Of course if you’re in a relationship, it would be very much appreciated if the love goes both ways. But when it comes to ‘loving your neighbor’, we should be able to do something once in a while without expecting something in return.
Love should be a gift. Not a currency. Who is your neighbor btw. Well basically, the people living right next to you lol, but not just them. I could consider everyone within my circle to be my neighbor. And you all know I’m far from perfect. But the same way you would train your body by going to the gym or by doing anything else to strengthen yourself, we can train our minds and yes even our emotions. Tough? Yes.
Love puts the other first, it doesn’t seek its own advantage. Who’s the other? Your neighbor, your partner, your kids, even that stranger maybe. Take your pick. Well it’s not too hard to do something nice for someone you already know and like. It’s when those conditions aren’t met, it tends to get really hard. Especially when it’s about to cost us something. Those costs can vary from actual money, to time, effort, you name it. And when we did that something and it seems like it’s not that much appreciated at all… Yeah, not a good feeling.
I remember a time when I felt like helping another Mom and her family out, by buying a couple of sets of nice clothing for her kids, all on sale mind you. I did not anticipate her reaction at all though. She wouldn’t accept it, saying it was too much and she didn’t feel comfortable with it and was really upset too. It took me some time to realize what it must have looked like to her: it made her feel embarrassed, like she was failing her own family. I was hurt by her reaction at first and I could not understand why she could not see I just wanted to help out. It took me some time, but Love Isn’t Irritable and it Doesn’t Keep a Record of Complaints.
Giving is often easier than receiving. Not talking about your birthday gifts and you know it. Receiving most often has to do with accepting help in some part of our life. Receiving makes us aware of our shortcomings or flaws even, let’s just call it needs. At least that could be the way we look at it, while the giver probably wants nothing more than to actually help you, so your circumstances and quality of life improves. You see, Love Hopes For All Things, which includes your happiness.
But what about those people you really, really don’t like? Haha, you all know I can be… uhm.. Let’s say a handful. I’ve talked about our privilege of choice before. I can choose to avoid those people as much as possible. I can choose to speak my mind whenever the situation calls for it. I can be totally rude too if I want to be and sometimes I am. I just have to realize at some point it’s not helping me. And sometimes I cannot just escape, but have to deal with those people. Love can help me Put Up with them if needed. I don’t have to be extra nice, just respectful.
If we’re talking injustice though, that might be a little different story. Though Love Can Endure All Things, It Isn’t Happy With Injustice, it Wants the Truth. So there’s the choice to fight for something worthy your cause. That means I can be fierce about it too, no real niceties needed here. I was exactly that before I left my previous job. Did I do everything right? Maybe not, but I was fighting against the injustice that was done not only to me, but to everyone else too. Did I manage to make a change? I was perfectly aware that no company that big would bow just for me. But I wasn’t going to bow for them either. I got My Justice. Remember: Not a Doormat!
These days, when all things around us are changing so fast and we all are worried one way or another about what the future holds, I think we are in more need of Love than ever before. Real Love Never Fails. Wow. Being married now for 30 years, I think I can safely say, our Love Didn’t Fail. It might have faltered sometimes, but it didn’t fail. The love for our kids, our friends, family will falter sometimes, especially when circumstances are working against you, or wrong choices were made. It happens. However, if it’s real, it won’t fail.
Since we all know that even loving your loved ones can be a challenge at times, how about loving the rest. How does that never fail? To be honest, our love does fail. Our human love has so many limitations, as I said, or emotions, our thoughts, our feelings, our circumstances etc. Some days we can deal with all that better than others. On my best days, I might be able to push aside any negativity and see right through to the heart of things. On my worst days, one wrong look can set me off, so to speak.
My conclusion: my human love would never stand a chance, reading all the above descriptions as to what Love should be. My human love is limited and bound to fail on all accounts at one point. Fortunately there is a Greater Love available. A Love that first and foremost Forgives. Where my love ends, this Love takes everything to the next level and beyond. All other things might fail and come to an end. Not This Love.
Wishing y’all a LOVEly weekend! Be nice now! ❤
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