The thing is, when we interact with people, there is always room for creativity. Also, we can see instances where people do not 'act like themselves' - and we are reminded of the complexity of the human character, which has the potential to change.
This is really important to understand, because none of us likes to be put in boxes, so it is common courtesy to try not to do the same to others. And the more I think about life, the more I am convinced that our ability to have full lives depends on our ability to love. It is an art to love those around us, it can take so much work to just do the right thing, for one's own sake.
But if one allows oneself to feel love, the most unexpected developments take place - all of them 3-D, not cartoon shorthand, but the kind of creative expression that is a live act of formation; one is blessed with a kind of seeing (and touch of uncertainty) "as if for the first time". We write the ends of our own stories in love, our particular tales have not been written before.
Last night, at Emily's recommendation, I watched Return to Cranford, and was struck at how love moved the characters to adopt new views. Love knows not ideologies, class, wealth... "We have always been equals. Love makes it so." Even tradition, a category applicable to the many and not just to one, is subject to change for the sake of love. Was it not Pascal who wrote the heart has reasons which the mind does not know?
The stock idea I want to keep coming back to is that while it is possible to make mistakes in life, I don't think there are ever mistakes if one is acting out of love. If one acts out of love and something goes wrong, one ends up with a priceless lesson. I've noticed that these lessons so often become keys with which we can unlock doors later in life. The stock idea is that it is worthwhile to live in love.
Stock used to mean sum of money. It came to mean the supply in store: what is kept in store for constant use. I cannot think of a better, more valuable thing to have in store than love. I can think of nothing better for constant use.
Elements: glitter and medallions: pugly pixel;
