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Love. What other idea is written about, pondered, and striven for more than this? The world of art is dominated by the subject. Imagine the world of poetry, music, novels, histories and paintings if overnight all references to love were vanquished?
The world would be dark indeed — bankrupt of purpose, it would seem.
But I have a bit of a ‘bone to pick’ with many of these expressions. Primarily when we think of love or what inspires us to consider its absence or presence in our lives we usually look upward. For instance, we behold the bright blue skies, the fullness of the moon and competition among stars as each seeks to outshine the other in order to gain our attention; we peruse sunrises and sunsets, our brow is lifted as we search the fragrance of flowers, blooming trees or seasons delivered to us upon the breeze of the wind. Ah, yes… love is ‘in the air,’ we sing.
But as I gain more experience with such things, I wonder if this is not more about a swiftly fading and elusive romance than the love I have, and continue coming to know.
This love, a love I tend to think of as ‘true’ love, is something I am discovering much more frequently by looking down. As I enter into the second half of life, I’m so drawn to the significance of the solid earth upon which I stand. I stand in awe of the groundedness of where I now discover love versus the breezy-flighty-change-every-day sort of idea about love with which I once sought and wrestled.
The other day I was having this discussion with my wife about the entirety of my life and of our life together over the past 30+ years. I reflected upon the fine line between a life well-lived, a life of raging success, versus one of raging failure. We laughed at the fine line – a very thin line – that distinguishes one from the other.
My conclusion was that by all outward appearances, my life is a success. And then we laughed recalling how all of that is because Love has done its work despite my/our attempts to thwart it at every turn. Talk about thanking God for unanswered prayers. This seeming ‘outward’ success of my life is a mirage, a false portrait masking the constant stupidity with which I have lived.
Yep, in spite of myself, today I know love… I know Love.
Love does its work in the soil of toil, sweat, pain and a million-and-one failed recipes. And all along the way it tries to get us to look down and take inventory of where we stand and the substance of that out of which we’re choosing to grow.
Without the ground, there would be no wind to race upon it. And even if there were, without the ground beneath, there would be no fragrance to carry for there would be no trees that grow, no flowers that bloom, and no seasons that change. Without the ground beneath, there would be no basis to enjoy a world full of awe and wonder, of challenge and mystery. Without the ground beneath, there would be nothing to carry the currents that produce the waves that so often call us to oceans’ side for a retreat and a time of deep reflection.
So, how’s your love-life? Make sure you look down before you answer that.
5 comments to “Down With Love!”
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I’m also learning to look within … I see that I Am a manifestation of love … what else could any of us be…?
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Tim,
I loved it when you “pick” bones. I find this to be true in my idea of love. I spent years “looking up, beyond me, outside” of me for a Love that always was distant. I now see that Love is “Loving-kindness.”
It is the Love that is extended, the one you know,
the Love that comes from within and knowing this,
I see it in others. The Love that sees is not
“up” kind of hyped up beliefs systems. A love that is grounded. Maybey that is why the Hebraic idea of Love and Kindness simply meant “to stoop.” If you want to see the world through innocent eyes, stoop down and talk to a child. Jesus said something to that effect! -
Mark, I couldn’t agree with you more. Children do indeed have a perfect concept of love and how to be loving. I guess my love life is awesome…I see it in those little eyes every day
Alicia
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Thanks for this perspective of Love! Poetic, poignant!
I think this is especially true with God believers because rather than seeing God in the cells and the minutiae they see him in the grand church building and the loud words of the preacher.