Long Live Love

2020 has been a hell of a year so far, and one that has left me with an abundance of questions with very little answers, and if I may add, a sour taste in my mouth. If it is so easy to hate someone we do not even know based on appearance, why isn’t it as equally easy to love someone? Especially now, in the month of June, which celebrates Pride and love among everyone everywhere, with no stipulations to be had. Martin Luther King Jr. said himself that love is the most durable power in the world, and especially during this current climate, this quote is more applicable now more than ever. It seems like we are seeing a rise in hatred and animosity, but it may just be the prevalence of cameras and recordings at the touch of our fingertips and the ability to voice our opinions immediately due to social media. It’s great that we can impact the world and begin to make a difference due to the plethora of advantages we have at our disposal, but we must also exercise caution and heed patience when it comes to regurgitating our words online. I have seen so much vitriol hurled in the directions of others lately on the internet and it’s sickening how comfortable people are disrespecting one another from behind the screens of a smartphone or a computer. Even worse are the people with the bold audacity to be hateful to someone face to face without fear of any repercussions because no one has ever checked them before (I actually wrote this before the video of that awful woman getting slapped after telling another woman to go back to Mexico and forcefully grabbing her, but what a perfect example of this very thing). It’s not like I expect everyone to hold hands around the campfire and sing kumbaya, but perhaps we can all be a little less hesitant to spread love in the ensuing chaos of the future of this world.

Love is love is love is love. Black love, white love, cultural love, ethnically diverse love, mixed love, religious love, heterosexual love, homosexual love, pansexual love, platonic love, biological love, marital love, parental love, step-parental love, transgender love, queer love, bisexual love, romantic love, familial love, and anything and everything else in between. Love encompasses us all and knows no bounds. I, for one, will never be upset to witness more love in the world, regardless of where it is coming from and who it is for. Imagine being so consumed with hate, judgment, and fear, that someone else’s love offends or infuriates you. Unless someone is forcing you into their bedroom, what they do behind closed doors is of zero concern to you. If people are happy and and treated with respect and appreciated, then I am all for whatever love they want to partake in. I truly feel if there was more of this unconditional love in the world, we would all exist in a much better place with a vastly more peaceful and tolerant environment. I could never imagine disliking someone for their appearance, their accent, the color of their skin, or who they choose to love. If you’re a good person, you will always have my amicability and mutual respect. If you’re out here judging the innocent or reprimanding those you deem to be unacceptable in one fashion or another, then I truly pity you.

2020 has opened my eyes tenfold to accountability and empathy. We must begin to hold ourselves accountable for not always understanding the thoughts and experiences someone else has endured. I will never be able to fully understand what it is like to be judged off my skin tone and the color of my complexion, or felt like I needed to hide my love or relationship status from family members or the public world, or live in secrecy and shame, but I will always be open to learning from those who can share with me firsthand their ideas and viewpoints should they ever be inclined to indulge them. I’ve learned so much lately by hearing the viewpoints of a friend who is gay, black, and a woman. Yet she refuses to ever back down in the face of adversity and always approaches situations with a rational head and a cool demeanor. For anyone to find fault in who she should choose to love blows my mind. I’ve got love for all my friends, and especially all the strong and powerful women who have impacted my life in one way or another. I will always believe that love is stronger than hate in a way that can be felt a thousand times more than it can be heard. I truly believe that strength in love can drive out the negativity felt with hate, if only we allow it to work its magic.

June is a month celebratory of all things to do with love. I hope that when it is my time to leave this earth, I will be remembered as someone who touched the lives of those around me by spreading an ample amount of love to those I came in contact with. Fortunately for us, there isn’t a finite restriction on the amount of love we can give and partake in, and in the end, it is limitless. I don’t want to be that person who expects to be loved without ever offering any of my own to those around me. I will make sure my friends feel how much I care for them and celebrate in their collective triumphs and happiness. I hope my family knows how much I am willing to sacrifice to ensure they are loved and appreciated and respected every single day, and I hope my partner knows that my love for him knows no bounds. For those I love, I will sacrifice, and I will continue to choose love every single day. I watched the documentary, ‘A Secret Love’ on Netflix a few weeks ago, and I must have sobbed throughout the entirety of it. Not only were those 2 women incredibly badass for pursuing a career in sports (hockey and baseball, respectively) in a time where women being athletes was looked down upon, they remained true in their secretive relationship for decades, only marrying in their final golden years when gay marriage became legalized. How such a beautiful love story could ever be deemed immoral, illegal, and reprehensible is something I could never fathom. I cheered for them when they were finally able to bring that ceremony to fruition. I like to live my life by the song “The End” by the Beatles and hope that in the end, the love I take is equal to the love I make.

Equality has been on the forefront of a lot of people’s minds lately. These social and immoral injustices running rampant throughout our beautiful country has put into perspective a lot of the inequalities a multitude of people face. I will keep trying my hardest to do my part to never contribute to the hatred seeping it’s way into society and I will choose love a thousand times over, again and again. They say true love comes once in a lifetime, and I tend to disagree. While I feel incredibly lucky to have my partner by my side, whom truly consumes my soul with happiness and makes me feel whole and loved every single day, I do believe I have found a true and unbeatable love in several of my platonic and familial relationships as well. I am a triplet, and there is absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure my brothers were loved and happy. I love my partner’s children in a way I never would have imagined possible unless I lived it. It is indescribable the way I care for them and hope for the best for them in life and want to to shield them from any horrors they may endure. And I have an impenetrable love for the people in my gym, who feel like the brothers and sisters of a family versus my teammates on the mats. We have a saying at our gym, ‘not all family is blood’ and I hope they all know I would go to bat for them any single day of the week. Regardless of gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, preference on who they love, religious background, ethnicity, or whatever, I truly love them all. Love is a simple word of only 4 letters, but full of the complexities associated with all of its emotions and wavering thoughts. It is the most powerful force on earth, the greatest energy the world can ever know, and the most definitive tool to conquer any hate. Spread it and share it everywhere you go, put no ramifications on those that choose to embrace it in all forms, and let it bring peace to the mind, body, and souls of all those who come into contact with it. Love is durable, lasting, patient, and most of all, the reason we are all here.