May 2008 - Love

“The story of a love is not important--what is important is that one is capable of love.” ~Actor Helen Hayes (1900-1993)

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the second edition of Virtues for Life! This month’s focus is on Love, the greatest of all virtues. Love, I believe, is at the core of our existence yet hard to define. I know that anytime that I feel love whether it be in a romance, or for a family member or friend, or because I am witnessing something beautiful, I cannot describe it or attempt to measure it, but I know it’s real. I know it’s real because the purity and depth of the feeling is undeniable. Love is the same for everyone, the eternal truth of humanity. 

In the book A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson, one of my favorite authors, she says,

“Love is energy. It’s not something we can perceive with our physical senses, but people can usually tell you when they feel it and when they don’t. Very few people feel enough love in their lives because the world has become a rather loveless place. We can hardly even imagine a world in which all of us were in love, all the time, with everyone. There would be no wars because we wouldn’t fight. There would be no hunger because we would feed each other. There would be no environmental breakdown because we would love ourselves, our children and our planet too much to destroy it. There would be no prejudice, oppression or violence of any kind. There would be no sorrow. There would only be peace.”

Her words summarize so eloquently how, if we want more peace in our lives, we would need to make love a priority by looking at situations and people in loving ways. For example, if we have an argument with someone, instead of lashing out or becoming defensive, think about how you could react with more compassion. 

Gordon B. Hinckley, in his book, Standing for Something, 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, talks about love as being like the North Star. The North Star or Polar Star, as you may or may not know, is the bright star that the earth’s axis points toward in the Northern sky and the only star that seemingly never moves. For centuries, seamen have used it as a navigation tool in their journeys. 

When I read Mr. Hinckley’s analogy of love and the North Star, I thought it really is an insightful way to look at love. He describes love as being a constant and an anchor like the North Star, and when love is sincere, it never moves and is the “safeguard of community life and a beacon of hope in a world of distress.” 

So if we follow our “North Star”, we can’t go wrong; it’s always the right path. And in the most difficult of situations, when we really don’t feel like loving anyone or anything, is when it should be called on the most. As Mr. Hinckley says, “It’s not always so easy to follow the Polar Star of love but, if we do, it has the power to have the most lasting good.”

What does it mean to practice love? 

To practice love is to transcend hatred, fear and suffering and create peace, joy and harmony in our lives. I think if we stopped for a moment during our hectic and often stressful lives, and think about how we can focus on love more, we’d experience a new way of looking at things, which, in turn, will give us a more positive and rewarding experience. But we would need to do this on a regular basis, hence the practicing of it. It doesn’t always come easy, but we can at least recognize how we may not be acting loving with a certain person or in a given situation. Our relationships would surely benefit from making loving choices.

Please visit the “Practice this Month’s Virtue” page and see how you can make love become a priority in life. I trust that if you do at least one of these suggested ways to practice love that you will experience something meaningful. I know the next time I am challenged to think about something with love, even if it’s another driver cutting me off on the road, I will take a moment to know that it’s an option. Love can be a choice. You just need to focus on it and the good in others. 

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I enjoy passing on this information to you.  

With love~