We’ll, there’s a bit more to love than that. Here’s some examples:

* Laughing with good friends
* Helping others
* Teaching others
* Sharing yourself with others
* Spending time with others

Love goes much beyond the love between a man and woman, it’s a powerful piece of life and our relationships with others. Here’s an updated portion of scripture, applying some modern day equivalents to the importance of love.

If I’m a great speaker, and can motivate and influence thousands and thousands of people, but don’t have love, my words will fall empty. If I’m a PHD, and have studied countless and countless hours to succeed, and If I am so confident and sure of my self that I have no doubt I can accomplish anything I want to, but I don’t have love, I can’t do anything. If I start a successful business, and sell it for 10 million dollars, then give all the revenue to orphans and widows in africa, but I don’t have love, the money is worthless. – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Sometimes in our busy life we forget the really important stuff. We get so caught up in seemingly good things like being successful, raising a good family, donating our time and money to good causes, and doing a good job at work that we can often forget the single most important thing: to love and be loved. It’s not about what we do, but who we are. Love is not just for that special someone, but in all areas of our life. Love your neighbor, your job, your friends, your family, your SO, etc.

Often the best things in life are free and available to everyone. You don’t need a fancy car, a nice house, or a high paying job, you just need one simple idea: Give yourself to others, enjoy them, watch the love grow and appreciate it’s effect. It’s stronger, more enjoyable, and more lasting than anything else we have.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
–Helen Keller

Contractors and water damage specialists came to asses the damage, and after all was said and done, we are now living in a hotel for at least 2 weeks while the condo is cleaned and rebuilt. Needless to say this has been a very tramatic time for our family. Being displaced, coming close to losing valuables and household items, and the sudden loss of all that we are used to has been difficult. We packed a couple small bags, headed to the hotel, and now we wait. If you want to keep peace in your life, there’s much to learn from a situation like this:

Live simple: When life displaces you, you have to be prepared to move on an instant. That means that if you rely on everything from specialized toothpicks to your special shower message system….you may have a problem. Frankly, this will cause you a lot of stress and steal the peace that you could have.

Focus on the good. When you face a situation like this, it’s really easy to focus on the negative things. I don’t have this, I don’t have that. But with a little work, you can keep a positive outlook and attitude, and that will change everything. You can suddenly change the whole mood of your entire family just by keeping a positive attitude.

Think about the concrete and the future. It’s really easy to get mad at the past, to get mad at the fact that your house is in 3″ of water, that you no longer have a place to hang your hat, etc. But it doesn’t help. And, as a matter of fact, it makes things worse. You cause yourself grief, and most likely cause friction with your family.

Notice what you now have time for. It’s amazing since this happened how I have cut out little things that are meaningless. Checking up on pointless emails, over use of social sites like facebook and twitter. It’s amazing when you are forced to trim down the fat, and really focus on just what’s important, what time saving mechanisms you come up with. Can I keep these when I’m not living crunch time?

Look for lessons not problems. The more you look for what you can learn from the situation the better. When you focus on problems and set backs, it’s like going in reverse on a freeway. You’re not likely to get anywhere you want to go, and you are very likely to damage and hit other people who are going the right direction.

I recently read the story of Kristin Cronin. She was a 14 year old teenage girl who died in her parents’ arms – 2 days after saying she didn’t feel well. The last words to her parents before she passed away, “Daddy help me”.

My heart broke when I thought of the pain I would feel if my son told me the same thing. Knowing I couldn’t help him, that he had something terminal. Hearing him plead for my help and knowing I couldn’t just change his diaper and help him feel better. It’s not an option to get him his bottle, or put a band aid on his cut. There’s got to be nothing more painful for a person to go through.

It made me think of how I would change my life if this happened to me. How would I live my life differently if my son died in my arms saying “Daddy help me”. Would I spend more time with my family and loved ones? Would I have a different relationship with work and money? Would I help people more? Work less? Quit my job? Move to Alaska?

It’s hard to really know for sure what one would do if this happened to them, but one thing is for sure: they would most likely institute some massive changes in their life. And, with some hard work and positive influence, probably some very good changes.

But what if I could make those changes now? What if I could bypass the tragedy and implement those changes without it?

Unfortunately many times it takes a massive tragedy like this to really open our eyes – to really show us what’s important. I would never ask or want to hear the words, “Daddy, help me”, but sometimes ironically, I need to hear them.

I made this list as fast as I could, stopping only briefly to think of items. If I stopped for more than a minute, I figured I was done. I figured the things I thought of the quickest were the things I’m deep down grateful for, and if I had to think too long, I was merely pulling up things I ‘should‘ be thankful for deep down. I actually thought this list would be a lot easier to write and end up a lot longer. But strangely, it was much more difficult than I thought, and I could come up with only a few items quickly. I need to do this more often and focus my gratitude more intently.

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. -Sir Winston Churchill