Thoughts On Love On Valentine’s Day

If love were easy,
we’d war no more.
If love were easy,
humans would no longer
starve to death.
If love were easy,
homeless folks
wouldn’t freeze to death
while our government devises
new ways to give money
to the rich.

Why should it be easy?

What value
would it have
were it easy?

What worth
would it convey
on those whom we love
if it came easy,
cost us nothing?

It hurts.
It’s frustrating.
It takes effort.
It requires much.
It sacrifices things
we’d rather not sacrifice.

Love is the most unselfish thing
you can do.

It is a gift
when you give it
away.

It is not the things printed
in a Hallmark card.

The beauty in love
is what it teaches us.

When we are willing
to risk real love –
to let our lives
be about love –
to be the love.

Love teaches us:
that the struggle
we perceived
was erroneous;
that the frustration
we felt
was built on
false premises and
self-centered expectations;
that the effort required
came from our own
resistance;
that the sacrifices made
were only sacrifices
because we allowed
them to be.

Love is tangled.

Love is complete
when it is reciprocal…
but in a way
that has no expectations.

The fullness of love
is found in the simplicity
of it’s complexity.
Simple because
it is given with no requirements.
Complex because
it is so damned difficult to give
at times.

In those rare moments
when you find a place
of real love in your life,
you realize it is a risky
place to be.

Until those around you
join you there,
you can be hurt
because you’ve made
love more important than
achievement,
control,
success,
accumulation…
that which the world
deems valuable.

So, it is hard to stay there –
in a place of complete love.
Few do.
I envy them.
I think it is a good envy.

Love is worth it.

Love is the only thing
that gives real meaning
to life.

Love is the only thing
that gives real meaning.

Love is the only thing.

Love is.