Do All Things with Love..if you can!

Aside from writing about my novel, I’ve decided to talk about other subjects too in my blog - whether observational, in the news, or otherwise! All my topics will be about improving yourself in some way though! Or thinking outside of the box.

Recently, I stayed in a hotel room in the Canaries and this was the message emboldened on the wall opposite the bed - Do All Things with Love - a simple message, yet not an easy one to carry out moment by moment! I think only Jesus did that right, didn’t he? And even he still got angry in the Temple when he cleared it of the money changers and the animal sellers! So no, not even Jesus.

So why was it staring me in the face, every time I woke up in the morning? Honestly, I don’t know. I think the Universe must have been playing with me, as in a bizarre way, it was a much-needed message. When I gave it some feeling rather than thought, what it said to me was, think before acting in everything you do and it makes you think about the nature of love. Of course, I’m not going to ask for a coffee in Costa with love, or talk to my colleagues with love or even get on the tube every day, with a big, ridiculous loving smile on my face. And really, the word love would be better off with kindness. Kindness I can get, kindness I can learn more about and understand better. Love for me didn’t work in this instant and seems unrealistic. Perhaps one day (during a meditation session) I’ll get that it is love and the phrase on the wall in that lovely hotel room, will make sense. For now though, it didn’t resonate!

While I was away, I was thinking of my day job, currently in PR and part of my contract now is dealing with community safety, which includes knife crime - London’s biggest concern at the moment. I felt sad about going back to London from a vibrant and beautiful place, full of nature and positive energy like Tenerife and to come back to the ugliness of some of what’s been happening for many, many months now in the city where I live and grew up. Not sad because I don’t like my work, rather because there are some great community groups and people trying to make a difference on a grassroots level, to really change the landscape of knife crime. They are especially passionate about giving young people the mental tools - by way of music projects or boxing training, to help them develop resilience to that destructive way of life. So, the challenges remain and the Do all things with love slogan, just wouldn’t work with these kids. They just wouldn’t get it. However, the Do all things with kindness might just work because it’s taking action with that thought in mind - it’s not just saying something kind, it’s actually being proactive and building a way forward to do that. Kindness is a practical word.

Love is too big a word. It’s a great feeling when you’re heady with romance or spending a day with loved ones, but it also can make you vulnerable and that’s cool at times, but in that way, it also can divide emotions! So, I don’t think I can do all things with love but I can definitely try with kindness. Step by step works for me!

Love is best left for God, I truly believe that! Human love is conditional. Haddaway asked the question in his famous 1993 party tune - What is Love? I’m sure he didn’t mean it as a deep philosophical question (he definitely didn’t!) but man, he was right! It’s the greatest question ever and surely, deserves the greatest answer ever. Yet, there isn’t always an easy answer and we all interpret it differently anyway!