Love Without Exception

Photo by @jeremybezanger

February is the month of love. Children look forward to giving and receiving valentines on Valentine’s Day with eager anticipation. Mothers and teachers help to make sure that no one is left out. Yet when it comes to other parts of our lives, we often justify offering love to some and withholding it from others. 

Every plant, every rock, every creature, and every human is a manifestation of love. Although it doesn’t always feel that way, there are no exceptions. Those things that touch our hearts—puppies, flowers, friends, and family—allow the love to flow through us and from us, and give us an inkling of the love that created us. The cranky neighbor and the screaming driver are just as loved as everything else. 

An elderly friend of mine often wonders what purpose there is for her now that poor health limits her activity and keeps her homebound. She used to be very active and do so much for those less fortunate. I tell her that her purpose is simply to love and be loved. I remind her of how much she loved her children when they were babies and needed to be taken care of themselves. We are loved not for what we do, but for the fact that we exist.

When we focus on love, rather than on the lack of it, we attract more. Little acts of kindness open hearts and lead to more acts of kindness. February reminds us to spread love, the most powerful force in the universe, wherever and whenever we can.

Kathleen Crow
Librarian for the JMSI and Belk Libraries