Why I write about love...

It’s been a rough couple of weeks and when fear set in about the situation I was in, faith, family and friends stepped in to remind me that when all else failed, I had love to save me.

I’m often asked why I chose to write about love and my answer changes from time to time as I learn more about what I’m writing. My answer used to be because it is universal, because it is searched for, longed for, craved and fought for and is something that always retains its value. It’s one of the few things that we come back for even when it has hurt us because we know exactly how good it can be when it’s present and when it’s perfect.

My answer today for why I write about love is simply, because it heals.

In my weakness, I am thankful for my faith because in my insecurity, in the midst of my troubles, in the darkest and loneliest of places, it reminds me that I’m being thought of. I’m reminded that a greater being has a bigger plan and that that plan is brought into fruition as a symbol of God’s love for me. It means as much as I hate what is happening, what is happening is in my best interest, and knowledge of that love comforts and saves me.

I’m far from perfect and even further from clarity about why horrible things happen in the world and the thought is something that I struggle with often but the positive that I know and have experienced is that when life hurts, love heals and that love is seen at its peak, when I’ve been at my weakest.

The same rings true the world over. When disaster strikes, the kindness chord is struck in the hearts of many. Suddenly, the world responds as brethren and we forget ourselves for a second to think of others, to give, to help, to aid, to rebuild the lives of those who’ve had it broken (think the famine in Somalia, the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, the Hurricanes in New Orleans and how the world stopped to help).

I don’t know for sure that disaster strikes to stir us into action but I do know that when our worlds spiral out of control and a hand is stretched out to help us; be it from a stranger or a friend, our cores are shaken. When we know love exists, we’re moved to live better, to live longer and to live lovingly.

Faith has taught me those virtues too. It reminds me to give love as I am loved and it’s a virtue reiterated throughout the Bible. Love is a unifying virtue in all faiths because it is as old as time and is crucial to our survival.

Through faith, I’m told to hang tight when I feel like I’m losing my grip. It supports my grip by telling me that there is another hand holding me up and then it sends me family and friends as angels to protect my heart and preserve my happiness.

Love from family and friends over my whole life but particularly over the past fortnight have nursed me to health, have encouraged my growth, have inspired my positivity (and this post) and have shown me the gifts that God has sent me in this life, when life seems unkind or unjust.

Faith, family and friendship have given me love to make me the happiest when I’ve been broken, to make me the wealthiest when my spirit is poor, have made me the warmest when my heart was frozen from feeling.

Love this fortnight restored me when I didn’t care for its presence in my life. It’s something that seeks you out to save you and it surprises you when it comes in the volumes that it does.

It’s humbling too. When you are shutting the world out, love is knocking at your heart’s door. Love is infinitely poured into your life when you’re least deserving of it. It teaches you that you need it more than life itself and if you’re as lucky as I am, love will bring you back to life.

Every religion will claim to preach it.

Every person in the world will seek it.

Every broken heart craves it.

Every friend practices it.

Every family needs it. It defines my own.

Every tongue speaks it.

Every kind act shows it.

Every brain thinks of it.

Every heart feels it.

Love is at our core and no person is without it (or wants to be).

I write about love because nothing matters when you have it and everything is nothing, when you don’t.