Our morning routine was interrupted. I was engaged in conversation and failed to notice the time. My grandson said,”Papa! pointing to the clock, I need my breakfast.” “I said, that’s not my job, to which he replied, “YES it is!”
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I quickly got him his breakfast. No time for an object lesson or an extended conversation.
HONEST REFLECTION
I have spent years deliberately affirming this boy. I’ve learned that how you feed people, literally or otherwise, is an act of love…or loveless. He’s not helpless. He often gets his own food. But preparing his breakfast is something I have done since he was a baby. I have done it with pleasure and get a lot of joy from doing it. He’s come to know this…and that is what he sees as my job!
Every morning he stops by the restroom and then comes to be held by me. I say the same thing every day. I take him into my arms and engage him with, “Good morning!””Did you sleep well? Do you feel good today? I love you!” This too is something he does without thought. When I’m not home to complete this morning ritual I feel the loss all day…from what he says I know he does too.
This is too precious…too virtuous to interpret as some calculated job description.
WARNING
Love is the most fertile soil we have available. We can’t do love like it’s a means to an end. Why? because love is not an investment in others…its an investment in ourselves and others benefit like we’ve planted them in Miracle Grow. Why? because we are connected to every living thing.
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We won’t feel the same or experience the same level of intimacy with everyone but if we are “being love” we can interact from a place that makes those who feel unlovable or unwanted feel what they most need to feel.
The absence of love in our homes and in our business affairs leads to corruption of monumental proportions. It fosters performance-based reasoning, promotes competition, and leaves all affected by shame or hyper-inflated egos. It’s not about competition…It’s about completion. We can complete tasks, missions, and projects without completing ourselves. But, we will never know what we should be doing until we actually complete ourselves…and we can’t complete ourselves without love.
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
Our homes, businesses, private and public relationships share the common requirements of love, respect, and empathy. If money alone is success, we have justification for empty and unfulfilled lives. We have the visible wrappings for meaningless existences and disconnected capital ventures.
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Getting the most out of doing the least has sacrificed our greatest opportunities for going out of our way to meet someone else’s need. We forfeit the ability to demonstrate to another person that they represent more than money, more than being an object of pleasure and that we refuse to treat them as a “mark” for our own greedy gain.
We have much work to do to remedy our complex and integrated problems but I think I at least know where to begin. Love can’t possibly fail us!
What would our lives look like if we all decided to love first and let everything else follow?
If love is not everyone’s job then its nobody job!
