The L Word.

I want to take a minute to talk about something that I've been thinking about for quite a while.

What is love? And before you start singing, "Baby don't hurt me, baby don't hurt me, no more...", I am actually being serious.

Dictionary.com says it can be any of the following things: an intense emotion of affection, warmth fondness, and regard towards a person or thing; God's benevolent attitude towards man; man's attitude of reverent devotion towards God; to make love, etc...

I would like to talk about the first two definitions, they touch on what I've been thinking about the most. For those that believe in God the way I do, there is a strong belief that He loves His children  unconditionally, also we love the important people in our lives much in this way. I'm sure a lot of us can think of a relationship with someone in our lives where we have felt we've served more than we received at times. I love this idea!

Sometimes the feeling of love exists and then we serve others. Sometimes the feeling of love FOLLOWS the act of love. Some would argue that the latter is always the case. I am not entirely sure that something ALWAYS happens a certain way, but I do know this. It is important to love people, and to serve them. You can open doors you never thought would open by being patient, kind, and loving.

A wise woman, named Mother Teresa, who was an exemplar of love said the following:

Love cannot remain by itself -- it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.  

I am amazed at the ability some people have to serve others.  I am amazed sometimes at how hard it is to get to the point where you are serving someone, but then how easy it is once you have started. I have always wanted to give back to others because I have been given so much in my life, but I have not taken the time on many occasions to do so. There is something amazing that comes from volunteering. But I think service can be much smaller than giving money to a charity, or donating all of our time, or all that we have to the needy. I think a big service, or act of love,  can be a patient, diligent friend/parent/companion, who sees us through our challenges, even if we drive them crazy at times.

I think it can also be sharing a smile when you pass someone. I know this sounds cheesy but I have found a brighter day on several occasions when a stranger looked me in the eyes and smiled or nodded. It's an acknowledgement that we are both here together on this planet, and we both deserve to have people recognize we're alive, and to have a great day.  It's so easy to get lost in the 7 billion people that are here on this planet. Sometimes the tiniest of acknowledgements between two strangers can be what puts the feeling of insignificance out of your mind.

So what drives us to do these acts of love and serve even when it requires all of our patience?

Let me think on this, and get back to you. In the meantime, please feel free to give me your thoughts on this!