Cherish Your Life

Life has taught us that love does not consist of gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Seeking solitude enhances devotion. Emptying the mind brings clarity and calms the heart. Sometimes my wife joins me on the beach. She jogs, sometimes running backwards because Chinese believe this lengthens life. Afterwards she runs back. Mostly I wander the beach alone because she knows it relaxes and inspires me.

To love someone means to give them space as you walk towards the future, but being nearby to share the good and bad and accept them always for who they are, not who you want them to be. When I taught poetry, I loved to tell my students that I was a romantic, and they would chuckle a bit because I often talked about my wife. But then I would introduce them to the Romantic poets, and at times tears would well up in my eyes when talked about the depth of the poets’ emotions. To see wondrous beauty in the commonplace, and often live in an ecstatic swoon, makes artists difficult to understand. That depth of emotions is what I feel when I see my wife running towards me down the beach, or when I turn around to return home.

Today, I can see beauty in so many places because of my beloved children. For many years I was a single parent, devoted to doing my best for them. They are wonderful adults now, and I could not be more proud of them. The three of them shine like the brightest stars in heaven – day and night – for me. They taught me the agony of letting go and the delight of reuniting. Love is looking outward towards the future and believing in each other’s happiness.

Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. Keep your heart open to the positive light of love. Love begins with accepting who you are right now. Cherish your life and joy will warm your soul. Take care.