Love is beautiful

     Love

     There is a charged word.

     It has many forms and manifestations does it not?  Likely you have see new love manifest.  Usually it is loud, expansive even explosive.  It invites all who can be reached to rejoice with those who love in the beauty of it all.  It is beautiful.  I do not know about you, but I cannot help but smile whenever I see it, not in condescension but in joy at their joy.

     There is another quite different manifestation of love.  It is deep, abiding, old love.  It may not announce itself in broad behaviours yet it is there.  Radiating from those who share that sort of love like a comforting hearth on a cold night.  It is beautiful and not easy to see, yet when I do, it also brings a smile to my face.

     Which of these extremes, or any of the gradations in between, is True Love?

     My answer is all of them are True.  Love is true for those who have recently stumbled upon love for the first time and those who have lived within love for many years.  Not only would I not presume to know the validity of the heart of another, I would say from my own experience is love is True.  Because all of the love I know is and has ever been True.  Love can and does change, but it remains true throughout.  So I say, whatever expressions of love you see, take that love to be true.

     Making that assumption I find is not only gracious and easier on the heart, it helps when dealing with love as experienced by another.  It puts me on an empathetic rather than a judicial footing.  It helps when dealing with those who express their love in ways or degrees that I find uncomfortable.

     Especially it is helpful when living with our fellow lovers of our nation.

     This whole weekend is centered around love of our home and country the United States of America.  Perhaps you do not readily agree that this love and other loves are similar nor would the attitude towards love I mentioned earlier apply.  I believe it does and can be helpful.

     This weekend those who are newly flush with love of this nation will rub elbows with those who've loved our country for many years.  Bold, expansive and yes explosive, expressions of new love will dance next to the solemn dignity of old love.

     And both are True.  Both are real, honest and genuine.  Accepting that their love, however expressed, as manifestly True, is a great place to begin our 241st year.

     My wish for all of you is that you go and love openly and deeply as loudly or softly as you prefer, this beloved we call the United States of America.  Go and be with your neighbors, laugh with the loud and exuberant, stand with the dignified and silent and share in their love.

     Happy Independence Day to all of you!

     Ad Astra Per Aspera,
     Kevin