The best kind of work...

A friend sent a real cool e-mail in which kids, ages 4 to 8, were asked to define love. One respondant, Jessica, age 8, said, "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it you should say it alot. People forget." What depth from the mouth of a child! I think that we often forget ourselves, for we get caught up in the "feelings" that infatuation brings and when feelings fade so does our memory... I think most people don't realize that love isn't a feeling at all- it is a willful commitment to another, a conscious decision of the will. True love takes time, and is commitment. It stands when those "feelings" fade or fail. The feelings can come and go many times in a relationship, we can "fall in love" over and over again, for that is the feelings of love, of infatuation, that drives us while we learn of the other, while we develop true love. But in the long run it is commitment, not feelings, that is the glue that holds a relationship together through the years. It is easy to say "I love you"- it is far more difficult to mean it, but when you do, or when another loves you, cherish it, treasure it in your heart, for there is no greater compliment that can be paid than to have someone love you for who you are, accept you completely, the good and not so good...

True love can be work, but it is the best work we can perform, for when we love, and are loved, we work together, and that's the best kind of work...