Practical Love

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...

Remember that scene in Star Wars: A New Hope (the original, first of the series well before JarJar Binks), where Obi Wan and Darth Vader are fighting and Obi Wan says, "You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." ?  Well, to remind you, Obi Wan allows himself to be struck down by Darth Vader, but disappears. We later find him talking to Luke in his head. Well, I believe that Love is like that. Obi Wan was Luke's spiritual teacher, coach and confidant. I don't think you can truly teach anyone without loving them first. Teaching is a form of Love. The wanting to raise your students to a new, smarter level is easily defined as Love. Not surprisingly, all the great spiritual leaders started as teachers. Jesus was called teacher by his disciples and continually taught. For a student to learn, they must Love their teacher. Not in the perverted sense that we see in a few headlines, but a respect ...

True Love gets a lot of fanfare on tv and movies. This notion that there is this ONE person out in a world of 7 billion people that is right for you, is such a romantic ideal. But for someone like myself who occasionally plays the Power Ball, with romantic ideas about becoming rich, I have come to realize the absurdity of the odds. If there is only one person for you then it is actually very tragic. I think it could also be very magical, if you are lucky like I am to have come together, against all odds, with the most beautiful, talented compliment to myself-my wife, Cory. We have been together for about 25 years now. Crazy. Wonderful. But as I watch my Mom who, after the death of my Dad, was able to fall in love again, I know that true Love is not about that ONE person. It is, however, about one person. That person is you. True Love resides within. Love must be cultivated. You water it. Feed it. Nurture it within yourself so that you can let it expand outside of yourself. That Lo...

My dad used to tell me that sin was based on intention. If you knowingly do something against God or God's will, it's a sin. I tell my kids that there are no bad words, just some ugly words that are made uglier by bad intentions. What is intention? Intention is a noun that means aim or plan. To intend then is to have (a course of action) as one's purpose or objective; plan. Planning takes forethought. I come from a long line of Barrons who have problems making plans, so I know that planning can take some work. I think it also comes from the idea that if you don't make plans, you can't have plans that fall through. But forethought and planning have a lot to do with Love. As sin is done with ill-intention, Love is done by good and honorable intention. You have to intend to do, show and feel Love. I find myself so self-involved some days that I am surprised by the presence of people around me, all of the sudden, when they have been there all the time.You have to b...

When does 1 + 1 = 1? When you are talking about love. Love is oneness. Love is a very esoteric concept, which is why I am writing this. But love is for everyone and should be a very exoteric concept. You don't have to be educated or rich to love. You are born in oneness. You are the product of 1 and 1 coming together. From your very conception, you are not alone. You, for nine months are actually physically inside your mother. The birthing process is a separation that makes us long for that closeness again. How do you explain what love is? Love has so many facets and nuances that it is hard to explain in words. "Love is all you need. Love is a many splendored thing. All is fair in love. Love conquers all. (Love) is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken." Beautiful bumper stickers, for sure, but they don't explain anything. My definition is oneness. Think of the number 111 (one eleven). It is three numbers, equal in value. When you put them...

This is the title of one of my favorite books by Dr. Wayne Dyer and it was the theme of the homily at Easter mass. I always thought that this was a cool, new age, idea. But it turns out that Jesus taught that 2000 years ago. Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" John 11:40 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." ― John 20:29 “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” ― Matthew 21:21 “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. ― Mark 11:24 This is basically the idea of the book, "The Secret" which is a recent,...

Armed with all my love ideas and research and trying to be practical, I set out to smile to the masses. I went to an indoor waterpark with my two daughters. Happiness was already bubbling inside. As I walk down the hall, I see my first victim. I am going to smile. Wait...teeth or no teeth? What am I saying with this smile? Hi? There is spinach in your teeth? I think you're cute? Well, the smile I managed was, well, saying, "I have gas." Smiling is harder than you think. A smile reveals emotion, intention, personality. You have to be vulnerable to smile. We don't smile, in general. We do smile when we are embarrassed or when something is funny. Sometimes we smile to be ironic. I have the sarcastic smile given to me nearly daily. But smiling to show love is a delicate issue. People can smell bullshit. They know if you are being disingenuous. People are also skeptical of motivations. "What are you selling?" So what do you do? You have to fake it until yo...