As the sun sets on another day I consider how hope affects us all and how we should deal with love. I had pre-written this and the sunset comes from a hospital room where I sat this cold Friday the 13th with my youngest daughter. It is only fitting on this day of turmoil I continue to discuss hope, and love and how they are intertwined.
I seem to write a lot about love, because it seems to float inside me all the time. I have loved when I shouldn’t, loved when I should, loved in the face of adversity, and loved more deeply than most can ever understand. Only a few know the depth of how I feel, and how much love and life truly influences me and my actions. As we hope we will all have love lets think about what Mother Teresa said on the subject:
Love cannot remain by itself–it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. Whatever form we are, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing; a lifelong sharing of love with others. – Mother Teresa
This applies to life in many ways. It can apply to love as we serve others, serve God, or serve the important ones in our life. I also feel it can apply to much more.
In relationships we have to hope that we find someone who loves us as much as we love them, so we can turn love into action every day. What to do about it. Well, the idea in my opinion is to spread the love across everything we do, and this needs to be a real love, not contrived, faked, or the love that is simply a sham for places like Facebook, but instead the love that people can truly see. I (and I hope you) have hope that we find a love like this and hold onto it every day. We should also have hope we live a life like this as without hope of this love we are lost to ourselves and to our children and family.
I am sure I will revisit love, but on this day I would like to say a little prayer of hope.
My daughter,
I hope I have taught you the things you need to know to do well in life. I hope I have taught you how to see people as they really are, even if they are not as they appear. Shun those people who would do you harm, protect those who are innocent or misguided, and love those who you can with a passion that cannot be put into words. Do not ever let yourself be abandoned by those you love as you would not abandon those who love you. Treat everyone with patient respect, even if they wrong you. Live a true life to yourself and to those around you. If you have children, teach them to be good adults and to understand that life is not always fair as I have taught you that sometimes life does not deal you justice. Teach them to, that life can give us the greatest rewards we can ever receive; those who we love and love us. Be there for those children as I am for you, but live your life, and not just theirs. Teach happiness to everyone around you and remember that hard work is better than an easy way. I love you every day and will be with you always,
Dad
Today has had some difficult moments, and some additional difficult moments. As we all watched the sun set this eve I hope we got to see the crescent moon setting close behind the sunset and as we saw it set remembered that the moon and back is not enough to love, but only the stars beyond. Hope for more, and work to make it happen each day.