Live = Love

The Typo that Brings Hope

A reader, Jill Brooks left me a comment this morning on one of my posts. She made, what at first glance, looked like an error. She typed “Naming is a beautiful tribute, makes live swell. Thank you.” Then she left a comment right under that with a little smiley face. It read “*Live = love.”

How many times have I done that in a text? “Sending you live.” OR “I live you.” I get a little frustrated with myself and mumble something like “fat fingers.” But seeing Jill’s comment, Live = love, I started thinking maybe this isn’t a mistake at all. Maybe it’s a lesson, a sign from our better angels to let living be equal to loving. And isn’t that what we need the most of right now?

What passes for leadership these days has become blood-sport. Political violence on the rise. Once noble institutions, created to be in service to the people of this country, are now seen as detriments. If we don’t take care of our poor, our children, the health of our citizens, there will be a lot more money for the guys at the top, and we all know how wisely they will spend it. This is the backdrop against which we are living our lives, and it’s the ultimate example of living NOT equaling loving.

So, it’s up to us, now. No one is coming to save us. Live = love, is our work. The great poet Jonas Mekas wrote, “In the very end, civilizations perish because they listen to their politicians and not to their poets.” We are the poets, the philosophers, the grandparents, the teachers, the artists that know this truth and we are the light in our darkness.

Yesterday when I dropped my dog off to romp and play with a bunch of other dogs, the owner of the doggie day care place was wearing a baseball hat, with stitched lettering, “Practice Kindness.” I love this woman. The doggie day care and boarding facility is her business, and she also runs a small animal sanctuary with a changing cast of characters. Right now there are two donkeys, an ancient tortoise name Flash, a bunch of chickens and a couple of sheep – each of them with their own story as to how they became abandon and then rescued. She also fosters dogs and finds them homes. She knows that kindness, caring, and compassion are up to her. She gives those gifts to the fur creatures and the people that she comes into contact with, everyday. Living = loving, abbreviated: Live = love.

An old friend told me about a woman he interviewed who shared with him her practice of “Joy Spotting.” Joy Spotting” is when you identify some little moment of joy and hold it in your heart. The six year old next door is learning to play basket ball and the shrieking, laughter, and ongoing banter of play makes me grin when I sit on the front porch. Joy spotting. A Blue Heron, the Zen monks of the bird family, waits patiently on the dock, scanning the water for breakfast. She is majestic. I catch my breath. Joy spotting.

Blue Heron looking for breakfast on the shores of Lake Austin

Everything is the same as this time last year, and nothing is the same. I catch myself wondering where can I go? I don’t feel safe. I don’t like the way our so-called leaders talk, normalizing name calling, accusation and lack of any personal responsibility. The focus on power, winning and more, more, more, is like bad air pollution. You can’t help but breathe it in, but you know it’s hurting you.

I don’t think there is any place that is truly safe right now. And after Jill’s comment this morning, I’m not so sure what I need is someplace safe. What I need is to Joy Spot more people like Jill in the world. I want to live among safe people who walk in an everyday holiness, tending to family and food, giving thanks and helping those in need.

And that doesn’t mean I don’t have bad days where I curse at the television; or lament the unraveling with my husband or friends. It doesn’t mean that I don’t get angry. I am all of those things, but I’m also someone who works at live = love. Thanks for that Jill. Here on Substack, I’m honored to be part of a community of creatives. We leave the lights on for each other so that no one will stumble over hopelessness, and instead recognize joy.

Sending all of you live,

Stephanie

What touches your heart these days? What makes you smile? What brings you joy? Let’s help each other remember. Let’s have a conversation.