Love Is All That Matters

I long to live in a world filled with love.  While I'm at it, I'll tell you that I'm wishing for a world with peace, acceptance, tolerance, kindness, and more groups that promote these attributes.  A world where all human beings have enough.  Enough kindness, acceptance, food, love, family, connections.....  A world where love rules.

I choose love.  I choose tolerance.  I choose kindness. I choose compassion.

In the past couple of weeks there has a been a public firestorm that has been spewing hatred and venom.  Behind closed doors, I have silently wept a river of tears.  Tears for members of my family and friends that I love so dearly that have been ripped to shreds with this venom.  Tears for complete strangers that they have to be subjected to such judgement and condemnation.   I thought we were supposed to stand for love.  To stand for ourselves but not against others. I thought someone else a little higher up managed the judgement factor.

Living in a small, rural town with small minded people can be very difficult and I have stood by, watching and listening and feeling overwhelmed.  I have read words written on social media and witnessed acts of hatred, prejudice and judgement and I have tried to ignore it.  My pollyanna-ish self wishes to ignore it and hopefully it will go away.  I have hung my head in shame for not standing up for my family and friends.  Yet, I am also loathe to add something for fear of perpetuating the self-feeding storm.  Negativity breeds negativity.

Yet several members of my family are being hurt and that hurts me.  In years past I've had friends that killed themselves rather admit their partner preference.  I have friends that have yet to admit to themselves, much less anyone else, their orientation.  I have family members that cannot claim their relationships with their spouses "out loud" to anyone at their workplace for fear of being fired.  None of this is ok.  Not even a little bit.

Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.  I would never want to infringe my beliefs on someone else.  It's the negativity, violence and hatred that has been spewed about my family and friends that is so abhorrent.  What happened to love????

Today I read Christine's post and the dam holding back the flood burst open and I could. not. stop. crying.  Then my fab cousin, Brian, posted this link.  Then I cried some more.  Actually a lot more.

J came to comfort me and asked why I was crying so hard.  I explained it to her the best I could.  She started shaking her head and said, "but mom, I thought love was love."

Then she said, "Can we make some signs that say Love Is All That Matters?"

Why, yes, honey.  I think we can.

As for me and my house.....we choose love.  Wherever you are in your life, in your beliefs, in your choices, in your lifestyle, in your partner preference, your color, your size, your nationality, your gender, your whatever.....

We choose to embrace you in love.

We choose love.