I don't understand how people can't love. It's just so foreign to me. I suppose there are people I haven't gotten along with the best. But everyone deserves to be loved. Everyone IS a child of God, everyone is loved by Him, and should be loved by us. We're all connected, all part of the same experience, all together. Even if we think others don't know what we go through or are so drastically different from us and our points of views. We are all human. And shouldn't that be enough to love?
I think that sometimes people are afraid to love. Afraid that when they love, those people will abandon them. Afraid that if they show their love for others, they won't be strong. But strength is showing and expressing love. Strength is also letting others love you, accepting their help and friendship and love. Strength is hoping and knowing and accepting that people love you because you love others, and praying for the strength to continue loving everyone around you.
I didn't use to understand how you could love those people you don't know. I loved my family, my close friends. But soon, love got complicated, but not in a bad way.
Love expanded. Soon I loved even those who hurt me, because I knew that they were simply trying to live their lives. I loved those I spent great, epic experiences with, because somethings like hiking Styhead Pass in the fog or living in an auditorium for a week together or squeezing into a shower playing Sardines or having a great conversation until 2 a.m...experiences like that happen every day and braid the different colored threads of our lives together and there's no way not to love someone you laugh and cry and almost die with. I loved those I was only acquainted with, because their awesomeness exuded out of their eyes and their hair and their toes and their bellybuttons and every little piece of them. And the more I loved, the more I connected with people. And the more I connected with people, the more I loved. Love comes through practice, but after a while, it doesn't take any work at all. Love comes through prayer, and the Spirit. How else could I look around during Devotionals and be in awe of the beautiful, wonderful people I'm surrounded by and love them? How else could I love God's children I haven't even met and want to take them the gospel because I love them and haven't even met them? How else could I want to rush up and give someone I don't even know a hug when I hear their name as I'm doing their work in the temple? How else could I feel the love of people I barely even know when I first meet them--a love so strong that I feel like we're best friends, and I've known them for only 5 minutes? I can't do this by myself. But we're all programmed to love. And the Spirit enhances it, and helps us along to the happiness that comes just because, even if you don't know someone that well, or you don't even know their name.
Love just happens. There's no way to explain it, besides God. Love is crying when you leave your best mate for college, and then crying as you leave college to go back home. Love is deciding to go once more around the block because you're not done talking yet. Love is not judging, either for serious things or stupid, inconsequential things. Love is laughing your head off and having dance parties. Love is teaching the gospel. Love is holding hands and hugs and sunshine even when it's cloudy. Love is happy.
3 comments:
I never want to hear you say you can't write ever again.
This is beautiful. Thanks for loving me--because I certainly love you.
You are wonderful, and I love you with the intensity of a thousand suns. You are so right, showing us what love is and can be. I believe that love happens when you finally break down your mortal eyes and see everyone with their eternal potential. So many problems happen because the mortal cataract that clouds over our eyes with jealousy, annoyance, and judgment. We just need to remove the cataracts, and our eyes can see people for what they are and more importantly for what they are meant to become. Much love, ME!
:)
I think that most people don't understand that there is more to love than just what they see in romantic comedies. People automatically put together love and romance, and thus shaft themselves of all that love really is.
I didn't understand that there was more to love until high school. I was really naive as a child. However, I just keep learning more and more about love every day of my life. I married my best friend, and who knew that I could love him more each and every day? And then the love you feel for your child...wow. It's overwhelming.
The mission field is all about loving the people. I served as a ward missionary for the 18 months before I got married (coincidence? I think not! Especially since I got married 2 weeks after I turned 21 when I had been planning on a mission), and after those love experiences I can't even imagine how wonderful a full-time mission is. Yay! :)
To people who don't understand love, or who feel unloved, just tell them to say hi to people they know. A dear friend told me to do that and it changed my outlook on the world, especially when those people expected that hello from me so much that they would beat me to it (which would always happen on bad days and totally brighten them).
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