Splurge!

Yesterday I read a letter my parents received a couple months ago from one of our neighbors.  It was concerning our front lawn, or lack thereof.  It was an angry letter telling my parents that they needed to do something about our front lawn which is at the moment dirt.  They were trying to scare my parents.  It was infuriating because it was so ignorant.  They had no idea about any plans my parents have made, or what sort of things are more important in our lives that take precedent over a new lawn.  But what I found so infuriating was that the letter was anonymous.  Anonymous letters are the most cowardly thing because the writer cannot be held accountable.  Sure in the letter they may seem confident about what they are saying, but the blank top left corner of the envelope tells it all.  I was so angry.  What kind of world do we live in where people intentionally hurt someone else?  I was hurt and so were my parents.  Not because we were embarrassed by our front yard, we don't mind it really.  It was more the fact that someone else cared so much and then got in their mind to hurt us because of it.  It was a mean letter.  It made me so angry at people.  Why do we purposely tear each other down?  Why does this make us feel better?  

 

But if we give up.  The letters will never stop.  So I forgave them.

Today I feel really good again. 

There is so much beauty in our world.  So many things that we love.  And we love them because they are good, and beautiful, and God pleasing.  Why is then that we continually believe that there is no hope for mankind?  There are so many ways that people love each other that we don't notice... ever.  One of my favorite examples is when someone does something different with their hair, and someone notices.  Has someone every asked you "did you get a hair cut" when you didn't?  Next time they do that, thank them for noticing.  

We love each other so much more than we give ourselves credit for.

I collect pictures.  Pictures that I have taken, and pictures from National Geographic that I have taken out.  I collect beautiful pictures, the ones that seem to be life-poetry communicating through images.  I do this to remind me that there is so much in this world that I love.  I collect pictures of cameras because I like the way they make me feel.  They make me feel unique and eclectic.  We do things that we love because they make us feel better.

Loving things makes us feel better.  That is something wonderful in the world!  We have to look for these things that we love and remember them, write them down,  tell them to people, collect them, because life is love!  

Please go right now and tell someone that you love them.  And if you don't feel comfortable doing that, then just go find something you love and look at it!  Take a picture of it or write it down.  Then go and tell someone that you love it.  Share what you love with others.  I'm sharing with you, please share with me. 

We need things to love because God created us to love.  If we don't love stuff, life is awful.  Why do you think lonely people are miserable?  God created us to love things.  Not just people, but everything.  Have you ever wondered why we pick favorites, favorite color, favorite animal, favorite food?  We were created in God's image, and God is love!  We need to love to function!  Therefore, indulge your natural instincts, and just love.  Now slow down turbo, you 

don't have to love everything.  I'm not calling for a major hippie-fest of love and peace (but wouldn't that be fun :) ).  That can be unrealistic and overwhelming.  After all, we don't love everything and we don't have to.  But I am calling you to indulge in the things you already love.  The amazing and the mundane.  

I am going to document love in pictures, I have decided, to remind people that there is good in the world.  People might tell me that I am overly optimistic.  And I will tell them, yes I am.  

Peace. Out. Dawg.

PS. Now go listen to When I'm Sixty-Four by The Beatles because I love that song and I want to share.  If you don't have that song, let's do senuti :)