Love

What do you think of when you hear the word love? How do you feel when you talk about love? Is love something that happens naturally or not? Love doesn’t take effort, right? I’m talking about love because love is another of my core values. I talked last time about exploring our core values and the benefits of staying in alignment with them.

My favorite definition of love is from Fred Rogers: “Love isn’t a perfect state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” This definition changed the way I think about love.

“Love isn’t a perfect state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”

Fred Rogers

Love is striving to accept others exactly the way they are right here and now. Wow! How do we do that? I believe that starts with accepting ourselves exactly the way we are in every given moment. Sound like an impossible task? How do we do that when we say something we wish we hadn’t or done something we wish we could take back? Are you harder on yourself than you are on others? I sure am.

Sometimes we think love has to be perfect; hearts and flowers, sweet words, smiles, and butterflies fluttering. I have found that love sometimes doesn’t feel like that. Sometimes love is hard. Sometimes I don’t want to be accepting. You know, those times I think if someone would just do what I think they should do, everything would be great. Ever think that? Tell me it’s not just me!

One way I find grace for myself and others is to remember the little child inside. We’re all just learning, growing, and finding our way. We wouldn’t say to a toddler learning to walk, ‘get up you little dummy, you know better, get up’. We would say, ‘get up, you’re learning, you can do this’. We would encourage them. Give yourself the grace you would give a child.

Staying in alignment with love means that I let go of expectations of how others show up and focus on how I’m showing up.

Staying in alignment with love means that I forgive myself and others.

Staying in alignment with love means I remember we are all doing the best we can in any given moment.

Staying in alignment with love means remembering that love is a choice I can make every minute of every day.

When we change the world changes.

When we change the world changes.