“Love is a friendship set to music.”
It was E. Joseph Cossman who penned this immortal line. Given that he’s also credited with saying, “Square meals often make round people” I might ordinarily hold little store by his wisdom. However, the more I think about this line, the more I love it.
I met a sad young man today who told me he doesn’t believe in love. He doesn’t believe in hate either. He prefers to live life in neutral. I’m not sure what books he’s been reading but he suggested to me that there is no ultimate truth and that everything is permissible. When asked to discuss this using real world examples such as the murder of a pet, incest and theft, everything soon became a little less permissible 
Word aerobics aside (and yes, I enjoy a lively debate) I left his company feeling sad. He was last to leave the classroom and did so looking crushed.As he was about to leave, I called him by name and when he looked at me, I gave him my nicest, most genuine smile and told him (with honesty) that it was lovely to meet him. My hope and prayer is that this young man will get a generous dose of love sometime soon to help him change his perspective.
By a funny coincidence (and you know already what I think of them ) the first thing I read when I checked my email later that day was this:
“We love because God first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
There was a paragraph accompanying this little line and this is what it said:
It’s all very simple. God is love. He is love’s origin, example and architect. I love because he loved me first. I know how to love because he has demonstrated it. I can love because he made me in his likeness and to share his character. He is the fountain, the motivation, and the pinnacle of love. I love because he does, first, last, and always.
And this in turn made me wonder … perhaps I wasn’t so off the mark when I ‘hoped and prayed’ that that young man would get a generous measure of love dumped in his life. Maybe someone will smile at him when he wakes up tomorrow morning? Maybe that will start to feed the seed of love in his life? What about you?
“To love is nothing.
To be loved is something.
To love and be loved is everything.” – Author Unknown
P.S. If you’d like another dose of love related chatter, why not watch today’s Instant Inspiration video? It’s called ‘Love Is …’
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Love is what makes life worth living; the reason we’re really here.
I think I probably heard that quoted somewhere but its true, least for me. Those without love are pretty much dead before they begin; I’m with you, hope he gets a huge dose of it sometime soon.
Heather´s last blog ..Quick Note
Twitter: GiveABrick
February 25, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Thanks Heather
He really was a sad young man. It’s one of the best and worst parts of going into school. I see such potential but then am also faced with the sad state of the mental health of others. And there’s so much anger too. Do you ever wish you had a magic wand? 
Sometimes
Though I learned the hard way that its also sometimes best to leave them to come out of it on their own… life lessons and all that stuff. Support never goes amiss though!
Heather´s last blog ..Easy 360 Animation using Splines (Video Tutorial)
Twitter: paulworswick
February 25, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Eleanor,
A lovely post. I love the last three lines;
“To love is nothing.
To be loved is something.
To love and be loved is everything.” – Author Unknown
Love is a wonderful thing when it’s working for us, however it’s so devistating when it’s not.
Thank you for sharing this.
Regards
Paul
Paul´s last blog ..Forgiveness
Twitter: GiveABrick
February 25, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Hi Paul,
I can’t remember who said it but the line that sums up how love best ‘works’ for us is this: “The best way to be loved is to love.” And the problem when we talk of love is that we immediately think of the physical love between two individuals. Like I said over at yours (and I’d forgotten we already talked about this until just now!) life would probably be a lot more straight forward if we had different words for the different sorts of love.
Twitter: paulworswick
February 26, 2010 at 9:55 am
Eleanor,
Love is such a small word, with lots of power. It’s a simple action but it’s made oh so complicated by the way we use it!
Regards
Paul
Paul´s last blog ..Forgiveness
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