Monday, December 5, 2011

Advent: Week 2: Love

Good Morning and happy Monday to everyone.  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Mine did not start out so great.  I got the stomach flu on Friday.  It was HORRIBLE.  I am a total and complete baby when I am sick and I was really wishing I could teleport my mom to my condo.  No one can take care of you like your mom can, in my opinion.  I think it's a combination of them knowing what you want/need when you are sick and loving you unconditionally.  So while many people would be disgusted by your illness, your mom's love for you looks past the grossness and just wants to comfort you.

What a lovely little segue into this week's Advent post, huh?  The theme for the 2nd week of Advent is Love.  In the immortal words of the Prime Minister's monologue (Hugh Grant's character) in Love Actually,

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

I like this monologue because it addresses many of the forms of love.  It's a well-known fact that suicide rates increase during the holiday season.  Sadly, this "most wonderful time of year" can be a time of isolation and loneliness for some for a plethora of reasons.  As Mother Teresa said, "The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."  I know it oversimplifies the issue of depression and suicide to sum it up and blame it on people hungering for love and personal connections, but I think that is a large part of the problem.

I feel very lucky and blessed as I most certainly do not feel an absence of love in my life.  Yes, I could focus on the fact that I am not married or dating anyone right now, but there is so much love in my life, I find it easier to overlook that a significant other is not part of my life right now.  Instead I focus on love from God, family, my nephews and niece (who fall into the family category, but warrant a special mention because they make me feel especially loved), and friends.

So this holiday season, I am choosing to focus on all of the love in my life, and I want to make a conscious effort to let the others in my life know they are loved and appreciated, through both my words and my actions.  I'll be sharing a little project later this week that ties in well with this message of spreading more love, so be sure to tune in on Wednesday to hear more about that.

I'll close with a scripture verse that emphasizes using actions, instead of words: 

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18)

19 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Yay, I'm loving these advent posts. It's so clear you have so much love in your life, both that you give and that you get :) I can't wait to see what your project is. It's funny how kids not only give so much love, but also are so great at showing it- it always reminds me that I have to be better at that.

Becky said...

This post is wonderful. I often think of that quote from the movie when I'm in the airport as well! You definitely have an abundance of love in your life, and what a fabulous thing to focus on that this holiday season.

Marisa A. said...

Sorry to here about the flu :( That stinks I hate being sick. But so glad you're feeling so loved this holiday season as you should :)

missris said...

Aww I'm so sorry you got sick :( but I love the message of this post!

Raquelita said...

Blerg. The stomach flu is the worst. I hope you are feeling fully recovered!

What a wonderful idea to focus on love during the holiday season! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your project.

Marlys said...

Beautiful post, Lisa! It touched my heart! I felt bad that you had the flu! When we are sick, it is always a comfort to have someone to give us a bit of TLC. God bless all nurses and CNA's who do that for a living!

Abby said...

Beautiful post - that Hue Grant quotation gives me chills. You said this so well.

I am so blessed to have such an amazing sister in my life! Love you!

I can't believe you got the flu! You had such a rough time with getting sick! :( I'm so sorry Lisa

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry you were ill with the flu. Hope you are feeling better.

I love the Advent posts. Great idea!

Nora said...

You know I love Love Actually just as much as you do, and it's really a great monologue. I'm hoping to watch that movie tonight/tomorrow as I do my Christmas Cards! I wonder how much happier the world would be if we (as in the universal We) all focused on the love that is in our lives. I hope that a lot of people read this post and are inspired by it =)

Carolina John said...

I hate that you had to spend the weekend under the weather. That's no fun at all.

Love, however, is quite fun. Enjoy it! Love ya bunches. Spread it around.

Stephany said...

Is this the moment I admit I've never seen Love Actually? I must remedy that this Christmas season!

Love this post! It can be so easy to get bogged down by not having a romantic love, but ALL love is good! It does feel awesome when you know you're loved. :)

Amber said...

I need to re-watch Love Actually. I've only seen it once or twice and don't remember it that well!

I agree, it's so so important to focus on all the love in our lives this time of year. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by so much of it!

Erin from Hey, Soul Sister! said...

Another phenomenal post, Lisa! You really "get" it :) I see "love" in many of the little and BIG things you do throughout your life. So lucky to call you my friend!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

You do have a lot of love in your life, and a positive outlook on life which will take you very far :-)

crystal said...

This post is so beautiful, there is love everywhere, thanks for making a point to show that, I think we tend to forget that sometimes.

Mandy said...

We are surrounded by love, friend. Thank you for this beautiful reminder. I've been struggling to focus on how much love I have in my life but you are right, we just have to open our eyes and see, its been there all along.

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

What a great post, Lisa! I'm so glad that we both have so much love in our lives from friends and family, I wish everyone could see what they have right in front of them, unfortunately, I think a lot of people can't.

I hope you're feeling better after today! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

I absolutely LOVE love. ANd the movie Love Actually. I need to watch it soon. That first scene about the Heathrow Airport gets me choked up every time.

Man, you have really had some bad luck with getting sick lately! Hope you're free and clear of sickness for a few months.

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I LOVE this post! Pun intended! I think that it shows that you are loved, because you turn right back around and love right back. You are such a supportive and loving person.

Thanks for reminding me as well as others that we sometimes need to not focus so much on negativity or people who are not showing us love(which can be so easy to do) and to focus more on where we find love in our lives.

I am lucky to not see the holidays as a depressing or stressful time. I think that this is living proof that the holidays to me are about being with the ones I love, not about getting gifts or anything like that.

I can't wait to see what your project is and what next week's advent post is!

PS GET WELL SOON!