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First I thought I would write about love


First I thought I would write about love, 
given that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow.

Then I thought, write about …

violence in our schools, streets, and homes, given that tomorrow is a terrible anniversary and last year was the worst in forty years for number of gun deaths …

climate change, given the rate at which the glaciers are melting, the seas are rising, and extreme weather events are increasing in frequency …

food insecurity, given that some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life …

everyday dangers for people of color in our country, given the effects of prejudice and
structural racism …

greed and injustice threatening peace everywhere in the world, given … well, given everything above, except Valentine’s Day.

So I came back to love.

Will love end violence, save the planet, cure poverty, guarantee justice and equality for all, and create a fair distribution of world resources?

No.

Not love alone.

But love is the root and the guide and the bond. Love, unleashed, can move us to reach for one another without reservation, fill us with the joy of connection, and render fear powerless. Together, in that love, we can change the world.

Elaine Learnard, Conscience Bay Quaker Meeting

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