An Invitation to “Only Love”

Love lifts us up and brings us together; while healing, transforming, nourishing, and leading us into the fullness of life.

Hello and welcome, treasured one—

The smile in their eyes said it all. It was 2008 in Las Vegas, and I was on my way home from work. I saw a car along the side of the road—surrounded by a family—with its blinkers on and hood up. “Pull over and help them,” love whispered to me, so I did.

Not long into asking them what was wrong with their car, and how I could help, we ran into a bit of a hiccup. They barely spoke any English, and I essentially didn’t know any Spanish. That said: Where there is love, there is a way. Through words, gestures, and facial expressions, we realized they’d need a mechanic to get the car running.

“Whelp, you tried to help—good on you—but looks like there’s nothing you can do. So, let’s go home and have dinner,” a voice louder and more insistent than love said in my head. Yet, my heart was reluctant to leave them stranded—and it turns out: Love is quite the creative problem solver. “What about that AAA membership you have,” she wondered, “why not give that a try?”

After letting the parents know, as best I could, what I was going to do; I gave AAA a call. Fortunately, they were able to tow the family’s car using my membership. The tow truck arrived, we got transportation for the family sorted out, and as I left—the smile in their eyes said it all.

I share this story not to brag or boast, but because, really, I was just following love’s lead. I was practicing WWLL:

Where Would Love Lead You?

Yes, that was a purposeful play on WWJD. Do you remember the What Would Jesus Do craze in the 1990s? When people—primarily youth—sported bracelets and necklaces, put stickers on their notebooks and cars, and so on, with a “WWJD”. The thinking was this visual reminder would help them to do what Jesus would do.

I bring this up because there’s a really simple answer to what the Christ would do: Love. Love was so central to Jesus’ way of being and believing in the world, that in the Greatest Commandment(s) he essentially said:

Love is the point of this all; it is the nature of reality. It is divine. To love well is to live well. All the good, fair, just, noble, and beautiful things we endeavor to be, do, and behold—are fruits from love’s garden.

I’ve basically followed Christ my whole life. Diving so deeply into what it means, and how it looks, that my doctorate names me a “doctor of the church”. I humbly reference that to simply say: Jesus’ life on earth was—more than anything else—a love letter from the Divine to us. One declaring: You are unconditionally, endlessly, and forever loved, valued, and cherished.

This is vital because, like a stream, love flows. It turns out—believing, trusting, and feeling you are loved—opens you up to this ever-present river of goodness. And when you open yourself to lovingkindness, it streams from you to others like the air you breathe. In many ways, loving truly is as natural as breathing. In other words:

Feeling loved is an “inside Job” that frees you to love.

I share this because I believe, in big, small, mundane, messy, important, and seemingly unimportant ways—individually and collectively—life is constantly asking us: What will you do?

When someone you know is hurting: What will you do?

When you see people by a car on the side of the road with its blinkers on: What will you do?

When you interact with someone on the “other side”: What will you do?

In the face of 16,765 children killed by the fighting in Palestine this last year: What will you do?

When you see someone—you don’t know—struggling, stuck, hurting, etc.: What will you do?

When you look at yourself in the mirror, when you reflect on who and how you are: What will you do?

When you “know” someone is wrong, needs to change, and/or is on a downward spiral: What will you do?

When you see a public person who you disagree with: What will you do?

When you see a post that you disagree with: What will you do?

When you pay the cashier, server, etc.: What will you do?

My partner, and two of her besties, have matching tattoos that give the best answer I know of:

Only Love

Now, am I inviting us to be loving all the time? Yes. And, I fall out of that space many times a day, and imagine you likely do too. The real key—when we inevitably think, speak, and/or act in ways that aren’t loving—is to do our best to give ourselves grace. After all, “grace” is love’s middle name. Which means, the simple act of being kind, compassionate, and understanding to yourself when you slip out of love, will return you to love.

That said, I also know: The more we rest in our innate belovedness, the more we relax into an intention to only love—day-by-day—the more loving we become.

You know the saying, “be the change you want to see in the world”? Love, with its radical acceptance, is what changes people. So, today I invite us to:

Be the love.

Hugs & Love,

Lang (aka “Dr. Love”)

P.S. What stuck out to you while reading this? What’s a visible reminder, mantra, or something else that can help you remember to be loving? I’m excited to hear from you in the comments, and please know that clicking the “like” button 🤍 helps other people find this post—while bringing a smile to my face. If you think this could aid anyone, please consider sharing and/or “restacking” it. And above all, remember: You are amazing, and I hope you have a beautiful day!