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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

WHAT IS THE COLOR OF LOVE?

For Jenn's Haiku blogfest : http://youknowthatblog.com/

Winds sing soft at night,
Stars blink in listening sky,
Christmas magic lives.




Have you noticed ...

love?

Christmas is the season of compassionate love.

It is an endangered emotion. The world preys on the compassionate.

Yet, it endures.

What is the color of love?

On the streets of New Orleans, I saw that one of the colors of love was ... blood.

A man stood in front of his wife as she was suddenly attacked. She survived. He did not.

Calvary showed us the same color of love, and its seed was planted in a manger in Bethleham.

In the post-Katrina chaos in front of the Convention Center, I saw the color of love was ... tears.

In the early days of Katrina, medical assistance for the homeless was almost non-existent.

Lost in the midst of mass suffering, a mother held her dead baby, rocking back and forth.

Everyone was consumed by their own griefs. She sat alone on the concrete, ignored in the back of the crowd of survivors, each caught up in their own personal hells.

With no cell phone that worked, no words that would mean anything, I sat down beside her. After some minutes, I gently squeezed her arm, then her shoulders.

After a half hour of rocking in silent tears, she looked at me and husked, "Why?"

I said, "I asked the same question by the bedsides of my mother and my fiancee when they both died."

"No. I meant 'Why you stop and try to help a crying stranger?' Now, I know."

She went back to her rocking, and I was pulled away by the needs of my blood center, blinking back the tears and feeling so useless.

Love.

We need it. We need to receive it. We need to give it. The difference between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea is one both takes and gives. The other only takes.

Psychologist Robert Sternberg proposed a triangular theory of love

that suggests that there are three components of love:

intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Different combinations of these three components result in different types of love.

For example, a combination of intimacy and commitment results in compassionate love,

while a combination of passion and intimacy leads to passionate love.

According to Sternberg, relationships built on two or more elements are more enduring that those based upon a single component.

Sternberg uses the term consummate love to describe a combination of intimacy, passion, and commitment.

While this type of love is the strongest and most enduring, Sternberg suggests that this type of love is rare.

That is why Christmas is important : its message is that love came down to us so that we could share it.

And each year we watch movies, sing carols, and send cards, reinforcing the images of friendship, giving, joy, and the magic of selfless love.

No matter your faith, Christmas teaches us that it is possible for one day to look at one another with the thought of building up and not tearing down or taking advantage.

And if we can do that for one day, then why not try doing it each day for as long as we can?






What is your Christmas Star that guides you?
***

18 comments:

  1. I love how you put that, why not try it for as long as we can? That is the true spirit of the season, to hold it all year long. Wonderful post!

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  2. Thanks, Heather. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year Season. May it bring you a touch of magic and chidlike wonder. Roland

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  3. Roland, this was a very thought provoking post. I have two stars that guide me one is 9 and the other is 6. :) I hope you have many found memories this holiday season that you can carry with you into and through the new year. Happy holidays Roland.

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  4. Those are two very good stars to guide you during the Christmas season, Summer.

    Thanks for the good wishes. And I wish you a non-stressful, loving, and joyful Christmas, Roland

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  5. That's beautiful, Roland. We need that cheer and love all year long.

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  6. Very beautiful. I believe this story is the color of love: diverse and brilliant.

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  7. Diane : We truly need cheer and love all year long, don't we? May they be with you all this Christmas week and all through the New Year. Roland

    JEFritz : This post came from my heart which is the birthplace of love so it makes sense it would share the "colors" of love. Have a healing, magical Christmas week, Roland

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  8. Lovely post. Selfless love, the key to God's love for us as well as our love to each other. Like freedom, Love often has a cost. Good themes to remember for life as well as in our writing! Thanks, Roland.

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  9. A tear flows, sniff, and then another. Sniff. Eyes to blurry to write more ... you get the message.


    M

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  10. Carol : Yes, everything precious demands we fight to keep it, or we will lose it. The Christmas Spirit of Selfless Love especially. Thanks for liking my post. Only happy surprises this Christmas week for you!

    Angel-Star : And thank you for thinking my post love-ly. Merry Christmas!

    Michael : Thinking back on the Convention Center incident, I had tears all over again, too. May the Spirit of Love and Healing be at your side all this season and throughout the New Year. Roland

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  11. That was so poignant,Roland. It really touched my heart. Heres wishing you a wonderful Christmas and New Year. =)
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  12. Raquel : That it touched your heart means my post did what I intended. Thanks. And I wish you a magical Christmas and a prosperous New Year! =)

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  13. Hi Roland - Thank you for allowing me to slow down and remember the main reason for the season. As a mother of three, sometimes it tough. Finding just the right gift for everyone - I worry. Love. Selflessness. Giving. That's what this season is really all about.

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  14. RaShelle : A mother of three? That must really consume your time. How do you find time to write?

    The right gift for children is so hard to find sometimes. I don't envy you that chore.

    I pray that this Christmas gifts you with a small measure of peace, a giant share of joy and love, Roland

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  15. Thanks, Word Crafter. That means a lot tonight. I pray that your Christmas is beautiful and healing. Roland

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  16. I just saw your haiku! Very well done; I can almost feel the magic in the air!

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