(not necessarily in that order)
You know the sign of a really great father? Look at how many times he’s been “adopted”!
I mean, my mother gave birth to two daughters — me and Cathy — but I long ago lost count of how many friends “adopted” our Dad to be their Dad as well!
Unconditional love. Unwavering support. My #1 fan. Generous to a fault (sometimes literally).
That’s my Dad.
I have so much love and gratitude for this man and I felt to share a few photos of him through the years. đź’—
Just imagine if LOVE were to go viral!
If the idea of spreading love seems too much, you can start with a smile. Spread smiles! Or a teeny tiny act of kindness. Spread kindness! It’s all directional…and any of these will be moving us in the direction of LOVE. đź’—đź’—đź’—
I was thinking about Valentine’s Day….and reflecting on what — if anything — I wanted to say about it. And I realized I just wanted to share this about love…
Love is all I know:
Sunrays on the snow
Of a winter long
In darkness, without song.
Oh, my heart’s afire,
Burning all desire:
Only You remain,
And life again!
Too long I did stray,
Flung lifetimes away—
Imagined You did not care!
I know now Your smile
Was mine all the while:
I listened, and Love was there.
I can’t breathe for love!
All the stars above
Call to me: “Come home!
Life’s waves all end in foam.”
Only love can heal
All the pain I feel.
What a fool was I
To turn away!
Love you, Randy! You’ll always have a place of honor in my heart.đź’–
I woke up this morning wondering how, exactly, does one find strength in love?
I thought about it off and on all day and it seems to me that the real question lies in what kind of love are we relying on for our strength?
I have a hunch that lifetime after lifetime is spent trying to find strength in love of people, love of money and things, love of power, love of intelligence, love of physical health, and so on and so forth. But none of those is–in and of itself–a permanent, infinite love.
Not that I’m there yet (by any means!), but I believe we find strength in love only when we begin to have even a glimmer of an understanding that God IS love. That, in Truth, there is nothing BUT love. And that we are ONE with that Love, which is all there is.
So I propose we update the phrase to read “find your strength in Divine Love.”
My recent “recess” day seems to have joined forces with my “best self” insight, leading me to remember a favorite song from long, long ago. It was a time when I had gotten (way) off track and was intuitively using music to get myself back to center.
The song was The Greatest Love of All, as originally recorded by George Benson. Whitney Houston later made it an even bigger hit, but I always resonated more with the original version. And something I only just learned is that it was written for the soundtrack of a movie about Muhammad Ali.
I think these are some of the most powerful lyrics ever set to a popular song…
The Greatest Love of All
I believe the children are our future;
Teach them well and let them lead the way.
Show them all the beauty they possess inside.
Give them a sense of pride, to make it easier;
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we use to be.
Everybody’s searching for a hero;
People need someone to look up to.
I never found anyone who fulfilled my need.
A lonely place to be, and so I learned to depend on me.
I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow.
If I fail, if I succeed.
At least I lived as I believe.
No matter what they take from me,
They can’t take away my dignity.
Because the greatest love of all is happening to me.
I found the greatest love of all inside of me.
The greatest love of all is easy to achieve.
Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.
And if by chance that special place that you’ve been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love.
My two favorite lines?
Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.
Find your strength in love!