Love is the the bridge between you and everything.” ~ Ray Bradbury”  

People talk about love a lot, but it can be a tough emotion to show and a tough emotion to receive.

I know I have had a hard time with it, something I traced to childhood and unloving interactions with parents, teachers and other kids. “I don’t want to do that or I want to do that.” Into my bedroom.

Got punished for speaking up and sent to my room. I still kept speaking up. I got punished in school for speaking up — “I don’t want to do that.” Into the corner.

Got hassled by kids just trying to get to my bus before it left. One group of girls stopped me in the hallway a couple of times a week, just to try and keep me from making my bus. I was fairly new and I had no real history with these classic mean girls. But I was too young to say to them, “I think you need to be shown more love.”

Work was just as bad until I said during my last ever corporate interview, I want to do this, that and this — things I loved. He said fine. So easy! I just wished I had tried it sooner. And that is what I did.

The world is filled with angry/sad/lost people who are made to do things they don’t want to do with often serious ramifications. The punishment varies from culture to culture. Sometimes it is even death. I read about it all the time and shudder.

What might the world be like if we instead encouraged people to do what they love and love who they love and support people who say no to doing things they don’t love?

A lot of our institutions would have to change, people would have to let go of the notion other people should do the things they ask them to do instead of thing things they want to do. And this concept would need a lot of changes in how we move through life to make it possible.

I can’t imagine trying to make others do things they don’t want to do as my job. It feels so futile and counterproductive.

There has to be a way to do this on a larger scale. Best to start in our own little worlds.

It took me awhile but I finally got my life to where I was doing mainly things I loved and feeling loved. It made all the difference. I want to get up in the morning because I know I am going to be doing things I love.

I’ve had people say to me, I am not passionate about anything and it always makes me sad that this happens to way too many of us.

One place to start learning more about love is to read the book Thomasina: The Cat Who Thought She Was God by the fabulous Paul Gallico (The Snow Goose and The Poseidon Adventure). I can’t guarantee it, but if you have been love scarred or love-jaded in any way, one of the main character’s transformation will give you a boost. The movie is called “The Three Lives of Thomasina.” Andrew MacDhui is a Scottish Vet whose wife has died sometime before. He has a daughter but he has lost his zest for life and is quite frankly a downer. Even worse his father made him be a vet when he wanted to be a doctor! His daughter loves her cat Thomasina more than life itself, but he can’t see it until it is almost too late.

Lori, a woman they call a witch who lives in the magical glen and is misunderstood herself nonetheless shows them love is the answer. The world needs a millions of people like Lori!

A few of my favorite lines from the book attributed to Lori. “She slipped a hand under the head of the wounded badger, laid the other on his flank and, bending down, leaned her cheek to the beast’s jowl close to his muzzle, while making sweet, soft sounds in her throat. The badger whimpered, sighed and rolled his eyes.”

Appreciate the read!

Giulietta