Valentine’s Day has long since passed and yet, I’m thinking about LOVE. Not the romantic, sappy, blah, blah, blah, nope. Rather, the deep-rooted belief that our number one job is to love each other. Sadly, all the things get in the way of living it out. Rolling around in my head is the idea that we, as human people, instead of keeping it simple, complicated matters a zillion years ago. In our infinite wisdom which, let’s be honest…we’re talking prehistorical man…the idea formed that life couldn’t all be love, puppies and kittens. No, we landed on punishment instead. Bad things happened and someone had to be punished. But what if we had skipped punishment and instead remembered love really is simple?
Bad things DO happen
Let’s be real, bad things happen. We’re not being chased by a pterodactyl, but it might feel that way. As we live life, bad things happen. Maybe as the result of something we’ve done, and maybe not. I’m on the fence these days about the idea that ‘everything happens for a reason.’ I’m not convinced it does. Sometimes, stuff just happens.
Throughout evolution, we associated the ‘something bad’ with punishment, eventually landing on the idea that we are in charge of the consequence. People became the arbiters of behavior, doling out the penalty for the bad, rewarding the good. Along the way, we lost sight of love. Outside of marital or familial love, we were interested in holding people accountable more than loving them.
People showed us how
The Easter season has me thinking about Jesus and the model he gave the world of love. In the narrative of his sermons and teachings, we learn that a piece of the greatest commandment is to love each other. It wasn’t hold each other accountable or punish others, it really was the simplicity of love each other. All others. Jesus, well he was hanging out with the alleged prostitutes and tax collectors. Hanging with the women when tradition was otherwise.
While the examples of people who punish abound in history, if we turn the pages, we can find those who’ve love others well. Fred Rogers shared the words of his mother which was to ‘look for the helpers,’ in tragedy. The people who don’t command attention but instead come alongside those who struggle and help. In seen and unseen ways, help. And help is love.
K.I.S.S.
Though I was forbidden to say ‘stupid’ as a child, the acronym K.I.S.S – keep is simple stupid – comes in handy. Love really IS simple. If we could stop complicating it and put aside our judgement of each other, stop the need to evaluate every.single.thing that happens and instead look for opportunities to love on other people…well, I wonder how I lives would change.
The simplicity of that may seem, well, stupid, but what if? Love others irrespective of their ethnicity, who they love, where they’re from, how their worship. I’m not suggesting a Pollyanna perspective because, yes, bad…terribly bad…events have happened and we must right the wrongs, but what would look different if love was at the core?
What would it look like for you to adopt love at your core? Towards you and other people? Acting from love rather than judgement? I don’t have the answer, but I know that we won’t know until we try. K.I.S.S. and love each other like it’s our job. Zero percent of the time will we regret it. Love…it really is simple. Love to you my friends. Be brave. Lisa