THURSDAY THOUGHTS: STRANGE DAYS, BUT STILL ROOM FOR LOVE

Strange days, indeed. "Shelter in place" seems to be the order of the day--or week, even month, most likely. There are more important events afoot than writing love stories.

Or are there? Perhaps when we find little understanding of the world's events, frustration with our imposed limitations, and deadly suspicion of our neighbors, there is one thing that often gets lost in the shuffle. LOVE.

Yes, I'm focusing on the romantic variety of love when I write in my stories, but it really goes way beyond that. "Love one another" is the prime directive from the New Testament.

What does that mean, "love one another?" Love is more than just the absence of hate--although that is a great place to start. Hatred is such an unproductive use of one's abilities and energy. Hating those you perceive as your enemies usually harms yourself much more than anyone else.

So--I ask again, what is this "love one another" thing? The New Testament says to "love your enemies . . . pray for those who persecute you . . . do good to those who hate you."

We need to be mindful of how we can mitigate the spread of this deadly plague that has enveloped the world. On an individual level, social distancing, shelter-in-place, quarantine--these are all wise practices to protect yourselves.

But on a larger group level, it's also to protect others. In this case, as well as in life overall, doing good to your enemy is in your own interests. More people have been changed through compassion and kindness than hatred and violence ever have.

With all the confusion and uncertainty in the world today, there’s still room for love, all kinds of love.