‘What the world needs now … is love’

I was staring at a blank computer screen and coming up with nada!  Oh my, I thought, could this be the dreaded writers block?  I rarely experience it. Those who know me are aware that I always have something to say.  Not this time.

This column has been scheduled to publish the second weekend of the month since the beginning of days—okay a bit of exaggeration.  Let’s just say it’s been awhile. Valentine’s Day falls within that time frame.  I have written exhaustively of love throughout the years. I resorted to checking my files.  My columns covered various themes including, but not limited to, this small sampling:

Cupid in diapers shooting arrows at people’s hearts.  How surprising! When I wrote this it didn’t occur to me that shooting at people is a dangerous thing.

Romantic love and mature love.  Boy,  have I changed my tune.  Both kinds of love feel the same at the beginning of a relationship.  However, the “happy ever after” is not guaranteed in mature love.

Love at a certain age drew a mixed audience.  The comments were variable.  Some thought I was brave , and they would like to date, but fear stopped them.  Some said they had the best and that person could never be replaced. Others were happy they found love/companionship again. 

Unrequited love hit a nerve. Folks, there are more than a few broken hearts around town.

Fast forward an hour.

After looking through my columns, I was back at  my computer staring at the menacing blank screen. “ Tick tock” taunted the clock in my brain. The curser was still — as if to mock me.  Enough! I thought.  I did what any self- respecting writer would do, I went out.

Love was in the air, or maybe not.  Every store I hit was full of valentine paraphernalia.  Businesses were papered in adrenaline-red hearts. I found the reds especially jarring.  This one  store was jammed-full of “valentiners” ( I just made that word up.)  After I made a single selection, I joined the folks waiting in a long checkout line, clutching their valentine cards.  Yikes!  The crowd grew antsy.

“Look at her cart— it’s filled to the brim and she is trying to use self-service. I will never get out of here.”

“One cashier? I must get back to work.”

The guy who was in line behind me, threw his valentine cards into an empty cart.  The expletives flew as he stormed out of the store.

As I waited in line, I mindlessly scrolled through my social media feeds on my phone—a habit I vowed to break in 2025! Social media was rife with snarky and hate-filled commentary – the comments directed to people they didn’t even know.  The rising political climate (no pun intended) was clear.

I finally made it out of the store and drove to the bay.  The cold air cleared the cobwebs in my head. Returning home, I once again faced the menacing blank screen.  My mind engaged and the curser jumped to life.

Folks, we have collectively fallen out of love.  As a nation we have developed an antipathy toward each other.  If a person does not agree with us in every facet, they are considered wrong, unacceptable, foreign.  We have developed an intolerance towards each other in place of love.

Love without action is just a word.  Sure, in a few days some of us will receive a  mushy card, flowers, chocolates or dinner at a fine restaurant.  These gestures surely contribute to the idea of love—but what happens the next day?

One idea is to love louder instead of shouting louder.  Take off the boxing gloves and try a gentler approach.  We are all brothers and sisters striving to make our way though this journey called life.  But wait….do not misunderstand.  We should stand up for our beliefs and rally around those who are being put to the test.  But do it without animosity—we need to break this hate cycle and get to a better place.

Canadian politician Jack Layton wrote this on his death bed: “My friends, love is better than anger.  Hope is better than fear.  Optimism is better than despair.  So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.  And we will change the world.”

And if these words don’t sway you, hear this from a higher authority:

“Love one another as I have loved you.”