Practical Love

I think it is hard to understand the concept of Love. We are told that God is Love and to love and that we are loved, but what is it? What does Love mean? I have been pondering this question, because it is so hard to fathom the depth of the meaning. And, of course, there are many contexts and meanings. It is a noun and a verb too. In the Christian Bible, in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a , we read that "Love is patient, love is kind..." While this is beautiful and often said at weddings, it is less than tangible for us. I thought about this and how Jesus of Nazareth might have answered this question. He would have used analogy or parable to do it. "The kingdom of heaven is like..." So what is Love like? I like "water" to answer that question. So what if God was water? Love was water. I am not suggesting that he/she/it is water. This is analogy.  About water Every day we wake up and take a shower or go to the river to clean ourselves with water. This is comf...

Careful the things you say Children will listen Careful the things you do Children will see and learn Children may not obey, but children will listen Children will look to you for which way to turn To learn what to be Careful before you say "Listen to me" Children will listen Lyrics from "Children Will Listen" by Stephen Sondheim's " Into the Woods" I have an uncle who I always refer to as my favorite uncle. He and his wife both were my favorites and I have no idea why. I have a lot of relatives, why did they get the top spot? I remember them both for their warm and how they asked me about myself and payed attention to me, but I only remember one sound byte from my uncle, Lloyd Barron. We were walking together across the parking lot of St. Regis School. We had just got out of a  church function. I can't remember if it was a confirmation, graduation or a funeral. We were walking toward the Fr. Shield room at the school for a recepti...

I studied Hapkido for about five+ years and was always fascinated by the metaphysical aspect of the martial arts. The word "Hapkido" is Korean and means, "the way of coordinated power." Everything is circular and you use your ki or chi or lifeforce or strength to combine with your opponent's energy to redirect the force to your advantage. It is pretty cool. One popular martial art maxim is "be like water." I think Bruce lee explains it the best. Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend. The "be like water" princ...