Sunday, February 14, 2010

Love Is....

You will have probably recognised the cartoon here, from the famous "Love is..." comic strip created by New Zealand artist Kim Grove in the late 1960s. The strip is, I believe, still syndicated worldwide by Tribune Media. "Love Is..." began as a series of little love notes that Kim drew for her future husband Roberto Casali. The strip was first syndicated in 1970 and one of her most famous drawings, "Love Is...being able to say you are sorry", published on February 9, 1972, was marketed internationally for many years in print, on cards and on souvenirs. Unfortunately, Wikipedia states that Kim Casali died in June 1997 but her son Stefano has maintained the strip although it is always shown as "by Kim Casali" and signed "Kim" instead of Stefano. He remained in his regular occupation in advertising until September 1999 when he dedicated his full time to the strip, working with Bill Asprey who sketches the characters.
The reason for this opening today is because my post is tied to one of the biggest dates on the world's calendar - Valentine's Day, lover's day - when the greatest hype imaginable gets into high gear...or so says I.   Personally I have no problem with love or telling your loved one "I love you" but hey, you don't need to do it only on the 14th February. You have to live your belief in the love you want to give to the other person in your life everyday of the year.  Right?  
What then is this thing called love?  We already noted that Kim's idea was to show your partner the affection you have for her/him.  Interesting, St Paul had the same sort of idea yet his idea was a bit tougher to follow.  He, in fact, wrote that "Love is........ patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  (1Corinthians 13 ff)
He continues even more precisely to state that  "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" because, he adds, "Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."



Sometimes we think that religious beliefs have no place in our life and the way we live  Yet this belies how little we know of the depth of spiritual writings especially those found in the Christian Bible. When we are faced with the simplicity of such verses we realise that there is so much beauty in the philosophies that these past writers, prophets or otherwise, have consigned to eternity through these verses. A lot of them are not even of a direct spiritual connotation. More a daily living support for the way we look at things.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Nobel Prize winner and considered a saint-in-the-making by many Christians, especially Catholics, had some very interesting and practical things to say about love. She dedicated her life to working and serving the poorest of the poor in India, purely out of love. She seemed to have a very strong and direct understanding of what Love Is.  Look at some of the things she said: "Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired". 
Sounds like something out of a Baci quotation!!  So here are a few more of her wise and loving words...
“Intense love does not measure, it just gives."  .......
"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home"......
"Spread love everywhere you go.  Let no one ever come to you without 
leaving happier".....
"The success of love is in the loving...it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done."  
And possibly the best "Love Is...." quote is this......



.. To conclude - Leo Tzu says (about love, of course) that "Being deeply loved  someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage."  With that I say: Happy Valentine to all!! 


 xxxx  Love is... so many different things to people.  Yet it still retains its own self even when translated in many languages. Here are a few examples to enjoy.....Liefde is...    German: Liebe ist …  Icelandic: Ást er...

The Last Word?

DON'T FORGET....
Make yourself at home here, come back and read some of the older cappuccino posts too, relax, reflect.... and comment if you wish....there's a comment button at the end of each post!
I hope to see you again in a few days time. Enjoy.
Cheers!!