The seemingly simple act of loving others is not nearly as simple as it seems. This is something I am realizing lately (or, something I've known, but is resonating lately). It's so easy to get discouraged by the absence of love in the world, and I'm finding that it's also then so easy to capitulate to the norm - perhaps I'm incorrect in assuming that the norm is deficient in love... I'd like to believe I am, actually, but... I don't know - at any rate, I'm guilty of capitulating at times. And when it happens it tears at something in my consciousness; I no longer feel like me. Sometimes I recover quickly, but other times I do not...
At church this week there was an announcement concerning a Christmas gift-drive for local poverty-stricken areas, but instead of donating toys for children, we will be collecting gifts geared for adults, and then selling them cheaply (like.. for pennies) to local kids to give their parents as Christmas presents. And I love the idea. I think it's so awesome, because, they'll be able to bless others, and that's the best part about Christmas. These kids will get to experience the joy of loving on people.
I have been finding myself needing to rediscover that joy lately, in order to recover.
"The gift of love is the gift of the power and the capacity to love, and therefore, to give love with full effect is also to receive it. So, love can only be kept by being given away, and it can only be given perfectly when it is also received."
"It is clear, then, that to love others well we must first love the truth. And since love is a matter of practical and concrete human relations, the truth we must love when we love our brothers [and sisters] is not mere abstract speculation: it is the moral truth that is to be embodied and given life in our own destiny and theirs. This truth is more than the cold perception of an obligation, flowing from moral precepts. The truth we must love in loving our brothers [and sisters] is the concrete destiny and sanctity that are willed for them by the love of God."
-Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island
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Elizabeth P. wanted to finish my blog. Here it is:
anywayz this is big liz.
anyway. tonight i worked at lake miriam. it was pretty cool. it was pretty fun.
i met this girl named dana. a little bit fat but kinda sweet.
pretty messy, pretty sticky time.
now i am going to apple bees. some of the people there are my friends.
talk to the hand cuz the face ain't listnen
me and my sis rock.
Monday, November 17, 2008
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1 comment:
I understand, it is hard to love in a world where loving is a fashion statement rather than a lifestyle. Could it be because we have desensitized ourselves to the preciousness/sacredness of loving others by proclaiming we love everything?
I like the idea of giving gifts to adults. While giving gifts to the children is a much needed thing, sometimes an adult getting a special gift might make their world a little brighter. I was thinking about this today, as I passed a sign set up on El Prado, basically it read: give a gift to a child. And I thought, almost out loud, what about the adults? I know, that sounds silly, but it seems that we are expected to loose the desire to be lavished with gifts after a certain age, but I don't think so.
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