“Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole.” – Plato –
I love you. There, I said it. I even said it first. Typical guy, I suppose. Or is that atypical these days? I can’t keep up with the male stereotypes. Forgive me.
I want to be whole. And so do you. I want to do good work with people I care about. And so do you. I want my efforts to matter, to be a part of something significant. And so do you.
I suppose I could hesitate and make you earn my love. I suspect I would be waiting for a long time. I have no interest in cheapening love. I’m not even sure I could. Love is bigger than my ability to do that. Love is a choice. It can be offered or withheld. What I do with it is a reflection on me, not you. The only thing I really know about love is that talking about it has nothing to do with showing it.
And there’s not a single person who doesn’t know the difference.
Love can be fully loaded with old expectations, disappointments, unmet needs, sincere longings and delirious joy. It can also be stripped down, essential and immediate, a moment to moment decision to offer the best you have to the person in front of you right now. That’s the love we need.
Since we are all more human than otherwise, we all need love. Start there. See what happens. And if you need to start over, ask forgiveness and return to love.
Here’s an article about the ways love is being studied, written about and normalized in the context of leadership and business. And here’s a guy who is way ahead of the curve. Southwest is so committed to love, they wear it on their sleeve. The Beatles, though it pains me to say it, were right.
