Love…love me do…you know I love you…words made famous by the Beatles…
back in 1962…life seemed so simple then…of course…I was only in the second or third grade…still sending little love notes that went something like…
I love you…do you love me…PS…if you don’t love me…then…I hate you…
But even then…I understood…love was important…loving my friends…loving my family…loving that boy who sat in front of me…or behind me…or somewhere…love was important…
Bertha…says it’s still just as important…and…as my world has expanded…so has my ability to love…children…grandchildren…students…but…she says there’s more room…that my heart is large enough to love even more…and…she challenges me today…to love strangers…to see them with compassion…regardless of their views…regardless of their actions…to look underneath all of that…and…just love the person…
That’s quite a challenge for me…there are some people that I just don’t like…whose actions offend me…but…she says the challenge stands…she didn’t ask me to like them…she didn’t ask me to approve of them or condone them…she asked me to love them…and…unlike the notes I passed as a child…there’s no PS…the challenge is to love…even if it is unrequited…
Hmmm…I’m accepting the challenge…I might as well…there’s no arguing with her anyway…wish me luck…
Jane
That’s quite a challenge! Good luck, Jane. I’m pretty sure you’re up to the challenge!
Thanks for your confidence, Peggy. I did find many opportunities to practice it today…at least in thoughts. It is definitely a large challenge…even for Bertha!
It is hard not getting along with everyone and there are so many personalities in the world.. we try to love as we can. You have such a giving nature, Jane xx