The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Aug. 6th, 2004 08:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegkerrAs I was making my breakfast this morning I had the KSJN Morning Show on, and the song "Nature Boy" started playing.
After listening for a moment, I stepped out into living room, where Fiona was playing a computer game and Rob was talking to Delia, who was sitting on his lap.
"May I have your attention for a moment?" I said. My family looked up at me expectantly. "I just wanted to say that I think that this song has it right. The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." I went over and kissed Delia on the top of her head. "If you take anything from what your parents teach you, remember that."
"That's a pretty good rule," said Rob.
If you had to boil down what you want to pass on to your children to one sentence, what would it be?
After listening for a moment, I stepped out into living room, where Fiona was playing a computer game and Rob was talking to Delia, who was sitting on his lap.
"May I have your attention for a moment?" I said. My family looked up at me expectantly. "I just wanted to say that I think that this song has it right. The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." I went over and kissed Delia on the top of her head. "If you take anything from what your parents teach you, remember that."
"That's a pretty good rule," said Rob.
If you had to boil down what you want to pass on to your children to one sentence, what would it be?
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-06 08:31 am (UTC)Because love is active, not passive; it requires our continual involvement and attention and presence.
"Love conquers all. Let us too yield to love." - Virgil
Too often this quote gets cut off at "love conquers all" = "We can do what we want because love is fighting on our side and will conquer all the obstacles in our way." But that isn't what Virgil is saying. You and love are not to be conquering together - rather, allow love to conquer you. Everything else has the sense to yield to the power of love; let us too have that sense, rather than requiring love to fight for us, let us too like all else yield to love, be conquered by love.