Fleeting thoughts about the world today

OK, so Love is a trite subject. It's been studied as a mystery probably since the beginning of human consciousness and it's not like I'm going to figure something out that hasn't already been explained. So it's time to move on to something new- the news. That should juxtapose well with the postings on Love.

There's so much going on in the world, where should one begin? We've got gay whores in the White House, pandemics breeding in Vietnam, an Iraq War killing hundreds of innocent civilians a week, a President of the United States who thinks its more important to be macho than it is to tell the truth, and a country half-full of people who are in such a state of denial about government corruption that they have turned their President into a neo-savior. Half of America is in love with Mr. Bush, while the other half (and possibly more) are fed up with his policies and would do anything to see him impeached. You can put me in the latter category, since I have no respect for anyone who would mislead a nation into war and effectively destroy a sovereign nation, just to go down in history as a "war president". Frankly, it's disgusting to me to think that America can "liberate" the world, since it's more of the same Manifest Destiny BS that's been killing innocent people for hundreds of years. Christian Reconstuctionism and Theocratic Dominionism are the new terms for it, and let me tell you it is scary.

What we need is a new way of understanding the world, one that focuses on positive change with healing means, rather than using things like religion, war, and threats to intimidate others into submission. The first step is to learn to do as Jesus said: Love Thy Enemy. Many Christians tend to forget that little suggestion, instead focusing on issues like gay-bashing and abortion...but where are those self-righteous values going to lead us except to more war, hate, and violence? Loving the enemy means being unconditional with humanity, understanding that we are all subject to the law of gravity, we are all affected by our social environment, and we are all capable of overcoming hatred with compassion. But when righteousness gets in the way, there is no understanding, only a my-way-or-the-highway outlook that leads to conflict. In that way, radical fundamentalist Christianity can be at least as dangerous as Rad-fundy Islam. Maybe one day we can all "live and let live", but until then the world is just going to get crazier and crazier...

Love's Day

I've been thinking again (watch out)...

We should all make Valentine's Day everyday, just find something special to share with those we love, some little treat to make their day a little better. Give 'em roses on a Wednesday next time, let's just try it out....it can't hurt to show love, right?

For that matter, let's make Christmas everyday too. And Thanksgiving, as long as we change the historically shortsighted symbolism of it, maybe it could just be a day for showing gratitude. And how about Martin Luther King day? Or Earth Day? ...that couldn't hurt much either.

Maybe we could subtract all the mindless consumerist garbage that's produced from the individual holidays and just live everyday like a holy day.

I don't know. I'm just sick of the waste and now I just heard that most of the chocolate that we splurge on for Valentine's Day in America is made from child slave labor. You know, between that and being single right now, I'm pretty much over Valentine's Day. I'm laying it all on the line, it's all or nothing at this point, I got nothing to lose.

Speaking of cliches.... Here's some words on love for the lover in all of us:

...

"In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love?" --Igor Stravinsky

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same." --Anonymous

"Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close at heart." --Kay Knudsent

"Perhaps love is the process of my leading you gently back to yourself." --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it." --Anais Nin

"Love is a sacred reserve of energy, it is like the blood of spiritual evolution." --Teilhard de Chardin

"I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." --Vincent van Gogh


So Happy Everyday's Valentine's Day to Everyone!!

For the Loving Lover in You

"All lovers live by longing, and endure; summon a vision and declare it pure." --Theodore Roethke

"Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child." --Buddha

"There is seemingly so little love shared in this world, it is not surprising that we ask, 'Where have all the lovers gone?' Since love is the most vital energy for good that is within our power to utilize, it is puzzling why we seldom do so." --Leo F. Buscaglia

"The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out." --James Arthur Baldwin


Yeah, I know love can seem like a cheesy subject sometimes, but find one person that doesn't believe in it and I'll show you a lonely soul... I know how it feels because I've been there, but in the end one inevitably finds love is everywhere and it can only be ignored or resented for so long before one realizes that it is simply loving life itself that is love. There is no other purpose, for love or life, but to love life.

The meaning of "Love"? To find meaning in life. Every single solitary (but never isolated) minute aspect of living is essentially meaningful, because love is the universal adhesive that binds everything together as a whole. Love is the magic and mystery of it all, the unseen essential...and a True Lover is one who is in touch with this Greater Harmony.

Substitute "Art" for "Love" (artist as lover) and it's all the same. Art is just the expression of passion, which is the expression of love. Art and love are interchangeable. Two lovers passionately kissing in the timespacelessness of the moment is equal to a painter making love from canvas and oils or a poet scribbling a lyrical gem on a napkin...it's the blissful return to the connection that unites one with all in love and art.

Well, that's my take on it anyway. Not to take away from all the magic and mystery of it all, I'm just trying to gather my thoughts on Love. I know it seems to go against the stereotypical "True Love" theory that gets tossed about in every realm of entertainment, but my understanding is that love is greater than just a simple duality, it is more than a neverending quest for the perfect "soulmate". Love seems to me to be beyond all human beliefs about it, defying definition yet remaining undeniable.