Read me a song
Emitting sweet melodies
A eulogy
To whom I once was
No mountain too high
No river too wide
No blizzard to tame
That fire that once was
That burned and devoured
The mountain tops and
Which forced mighty rivers
To boil without cause
Now all is obscured
And thick lies the smoke
Where there was light
Where there was hope
All that was I
All that I’ll be
Seemed to be
Lost in the past
But the still, soaring owl
Despite losing its home
Can tell you the tales of a
Future and hope
As the earth,
Scorched by fire
Has now been transformed
Into the most fertile of soils
There’s something all of mankind has in common. It is our need to belong, to be accepted, and to be validated whether it be by God or by man.
It is an asset we all possess in limitless quantities yet give away so scarcely. For what is the cost of a friendly ‘hello’ in order to make someone feel noticed. Or including someone who’s closed off from a group conversation, to make them feel acknowledged. Or maybe even sitting next to someone at school who’s always alone.
You might think you’re putting your ego at risk, but I assure you that in doing so you’ll both flourish. For love has been defined as the best in ‘me’ beckoning forth the best in ‘you’. Which means to say that in being my best self towards you, I inspire and enable you to be your best self towards me as well. And we’ll both be more likely to love others too during our subsequent interactions, as we go on and inspire others who’ll in turn inspire others as well. For such is the way of the brain in building habits.
There’s another great benefit, among many others, that cannot be overlooked. It goes without saying that consistently loving others will inevitably cultivate a loving community as friend(s) and/or family gather round to enjoy the warmth of your love. As it turns out, people who are more socially connected in this way are happier and healthier (Mitchell, 2004).
This leaves no great mystery to the passage: cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again (Ecclesiastes 11:1). The oceans suddenly shrink into mere puddles as the ‘finding’ of the bread – having been scientifically proven, in this context – becomes as certain as th sunrise.
So my encouragement to you today is to live in love. For God is love. And we’re His children. May we freely give the love we crave. Or in the words of Jesus: do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31).
Kemuel Sandries
Writer, artist
Instagram: @kemu_art & @kemu_words
Snapchat: @kemu_001
Lives on: Curaçao
Tashmness. 