We see it all around us. Love is in our fingertips. It’s in the way we say goodnight, and the smiles strangers inspire in us on the street. It is in that overwhelmed call to mom and the helping hand from a neighbor. While these days it is hard to ignore the hate that surrounds us, we can’t deny that we are creatures of love. That, in spite of all the ugly and sometimes because of it, humans showcase their most dazzling acts yet. We execute a scene that holds boundless beauty and light. A love that transcends and permeates everyone it touches. We are present and responsive in this moment.
Love is spread through the people we meet. Photo by DeMornay Harper.
Love is something that is both exaggerated and understated. We say “OMG, I love you” to random drunk girls we meet in the bathroom, but are afraid to say it to people we feel the deepest about. We will say how much we love pizza without a second thought, but clamber up when asked to express it to someone who might feel the same way back. We throw the word around in everyday life, but hold it close when we can suddenly feel its weight.
Are we being facetious and irresponsible in our frivolous use of the word? Or is it all true? Maybe, the love you expressed for the girl in the bathroom is just as true as the love you voiced to your sister hours before. I feel as if there are levels to our love. The love you feel for strangers. The little tinge your heart senses when you see endearing scenes unfold before your eyes. The positive action you take after seeing a horrendous act. Those are all love. They are just a valid as the love you give your parents and friends. Maybe not as strong or as rooted, but true all the same.
Love can be captured in the pictures we take. Photo by DeMornay Harper.
We are all love. We receive it and emit it. If you are asking yourself if you truly feel love towards something or someone, you do. Maybe it is fresh or as small as a budding flower in the pit of your stomach. Maybe it is so loud and proud, you feel as if you might burst. No matter what, it still exists and holds power. It has the chops to fill you to the brim if you allow it. You just have to say yes.
By Kimberly Clay Other Side Drive Executive Producer Dr. Rebecca Farinas and Dr. Craig Hanks sit down with Dr. Joann Carson and Dr. John J. Theis to talk about the difference between free speech and deliberative dialogue and what communities can do to facilitate constructive conversation. For further research, we recommend studying the works of Michel Foucault and keeping up with the conversation by becoming involved as a communication facilitator […]
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