I stand for the power of fierce love to change the dream of the world.
"O Love that wilt not let me go" are the first words of an 1882 hymn by George Matheson. Love that will not let go it doesn't get more fierce than this. It doesn't get more insistent. It doesn't get deeper. It doesn't get stronger.
That fierce, insistent, powerful love is the primary thread that runs through all my "Life Purpose Statements" in one of the columns over on the right-hand side of this page. Love is the current of connection, the juice of partnership, the energy of relationship. Fierce love champions, encourages, challenges, protects, inspires, and above all holds on and won't let go. Fierce love holds a vision of what is possible and believes that the possible will become the actual. Fierce love has the power to change lives, to change the world.
Fierce love is not mooshy or gooshy. It can be tender and poignant, but it can also be brash and insistent. It sees the magnificence of the beloved, especially when the beloved can't see it for him or herself. It calls both the lover and the beloved to their best selves, for the sake of their own fullness of life and for the sake of the other. Fierce love is passionate, though not necessarily sexual. It can exist as powerfully between people who have never met as between those who know each other well. Fierce love is more to do with how we see than with how we are seen.
Fierce love sees devastation in Haiti or New Orleans and won't let go of a vision of restoration. Fierce love sees the possibility in a hurting and breaking life and won't let go of a vision of wholeness. Fierce love hears the despair in the voice of a friend and won't let go of the certainty that hope and joy will return. Fierce love hears the lie in someone's "I can't" and refuses to accept it as truth. Fierce love seeks the welfare of the other.
Fierce love is loyal and daring. Fierce loves takes a stand. Fierce love can change the world.
"O Love that wilt not let me go" are the first words of an 1882 hymn by George Matheson. Love that will not let go it doesn't get more fierce than this. It doesn't get more insistent. It doesn't get deeper. It doesn't get stronger.
That fierce, insistent, powerful love is the primary thread that runs through all my "Life Purpose Statements" in one of the columns over on the right-hand side of this page. Love is the current of connection, the juice of partnership, the energy of relationship. Fierce love champions, encourages, challenges, protects, inspires, and above all holds on and won't let go. Fierce love holds a vision of what is possible and believes that the possible will become the actual. Fierce love has the power to change lives, to change the world.
Fierce love is not mooshy or gooshy. It can be tender and poignant, but it can also be brash and insistent. It sees the magnificence of the beloved, especially when the beloved can't see it for him or herself. It calls both the lover and the beloved to their best selves, for the sake of their own fullness of life and for the sake of the other. Fierce love is passionate, though not necessarily sexual. It can exist as powerfully between people who have never met as between those who know each other well. Fierce love is more to do with how we see than with how we are seen.
Fierce love sees devastation in Haiti or New Orleans and won't let go of a vision of restoration. Fierce love sees the possibility in a hurting and breaking life and won't let go of a vision of wholeness. Fierce love hears the despair in the voice of a friend and won't let go of the certainty that hope and joy will return. Fierce love hears the lie in someone's "I can't" and refuses to accept it as truth. Fierce love seeks the welfare of the other.
Fierce love is loyal and daring. Fierce loves takes a stand. Fierce love can change the world.
2 comments:
It's a great comfort to hear these words, Jeanny. This is the big picture I need to be reminded of. Thank you.
— Tom
Thanks for your thoughts, Jeanny! Gonna share... Words of wisdom!
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