"Love Is A Substance"

Last week I attended a memorial service for a dear, sweet man who recently passed away, a friend of my husband’s we’ve known since our college days. During the service, the pastor--a woman of great wisdom-- repeated these words: “Love is a substance: Pour it out of your heart.” The words have stayed with me all week, and during a visit to a waterfall in North Carolina they resonated even more strongly.

            They are beautiful words and it’s a beautiful message. But what I like most about these two simple sentences is the word “pour,” which is a word of abundance and generosity. Sometimes, when my husband makes a very, very special blend of a particular coffee, I pour the liquid sparingly. I don’t want it to gush out or it might spill and a portion might be lost. But love isn’t like that—the more you pour, the greater the amount, the more energetic the flow the better. There is no reason to hold back, to pour love in measured amounts. Love can gush and flow and there will always be more. If we let it, love can be as unstoppable as a waterfall.

            Our too soon departed friend was a man who gave love in unmeasured amounts, who let his positivity, passion, and compassion flow freely. I wonder what would happen if we all opened the floodgates to love? Would we over-power the negativity and hatred on the planet, would we literally drown out the sorrow, vengeance, and fear?

            Certainly, it’s worth a try. “Love is a substance: Pour it out of your heart.”