All you need is Love
This would not be a month for fun without mentioning love. Humans literally live and die for love. Sounds like fun, right? There may be less dying now that pistols in duels and swords aren’t grabbed every time two humans have feelings for the same person. Love has deep roots and the heart as a symbol of love goes way back. We think of our hearts as the center of our emotions and indeed have hundreds of pithy sayings, sonnets, poems, stories and songs to prove our devotion to love. Humans desire love, yearn for love, hurt others we love and embrace others in love. We are loving humans at heart. Love is often referred to as the only thing we need and that might actually be the most truthful thought. But I would expand that thought by adding that we need to love and to be loved. Both are the ideal.
Love shape shifts
Available in many forms, love shifts to its needs. Parental love, romantic love, filial love, love of nature, animal love and love of the environment are common ways to love. But it is perfectly acceptable to love your material things. Things can be fun to love, as long as it isn’t the only love you have. It is fun to see where love takes us. Love for travel brings a level of excitement. Love for extreme sports brings thrills. Love for others feeds the soul. It is said that loving your work means that you never have to work. It is a nice thought. At the end of life, love is what remains with you as you are saying your last words. Having loved life is the last thought I am looking forward to.
Romantic love
Romance and the art of loving others is really a fun slice of love. Romance isn’t just flowers and candy. Romantic love is sharing yourself, your real self, with another human. It isn’t limited to being married although that is particularly sweet. Your particular brand of romance is demonstrated by acts for others. Making the bed is totally romantic. Reading a bedtime story (not just to children) is super romantic. Whispered truths are often truly loving, as well as pumping up the tires on a bike, getting a plate of delicious food for someone else, holding the door for a stranger of all genders or smiling at everyone you come into contact with throughout the day. It is good to remember to bring love home to those you spend most of your hours with. Animals love us back in special ways. Save your best romantic moves for those you have chosen to live with. Even roommates.
Words of love
There are too many of these to list but we often don’t use enough of them. Take your journal and look up some new ones and decide who gets to hear them. Song lyrics are good for this list too. You can sing those out loud. Poetry can be quoted at the breakfast table to start the day. Think about leaving love notes all over the place. My grandson surprised me by hiding love post-its in my house and I found most of them pretty quickly. The best ones weren’t found for a month or two because they had been hidden so carefully. That’s love. If we could invest a little more effort and time into this one area, the fun would ramp up exponentially. Remember, when you do unto others, they are liable to do even more unto you. That saying should refer only to love. Loving yourself goes without saying. You will not know how to love anyone else if you do not know what it feels like on you. Try love on for size until it fits. After that, you will know how to make it fit everywhere else.
What size love are you? Who do you love for fun? What is your go-to love saying?
