The Challenge to be an Active Participant without Hesitation – Cheryl Strayed on Love in Tiny Beautiful Things
I am in the midst of reading this book, Tiny Beautiful Things – Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. Dear Sugar was an online advice columnist (Cheryl Strayed) which is now an online podcast. The book is a collection of some of the best advice from the Dear Sugar online columns that Cheryl wrote. I have dog-earred the following page, one of my favorite quotes in the book. Here, Cheryl answers a guy’s question on whether or not to engage in a serious, loving relationship. (Guy’s name is Johnny).
On Love
Cheryl provides a refreshing, raw, honest view on the intense emotion of love. Nothing fluffy or flowery in her description which is an energetic and refreshing read.
True love demands an all-out effort. This is not a passive approach. Instead, this effort is a drive forward toward intention. Going after love is like being its dance partner where you move through the fullness of life in all its glory and ugliness. In this short paragraph, Strayed covers a plethora of angles and aspects of love. She affirms that love has a multi-layer depth of meaning and blankets a wide spectrum of life experiences.
It seems as if Strayed is saying, “don’t wait for love to come to you. Go after love by immersing yourself fully into life, all of it.” Yet, you cannot force a loving relationship to happen. You have to be an active participant and not a passive bystander hoping you will win the lottery of intimacy.
Love encompasses a breadth and depth of life’s relational encounters. What is important is to land somewhere along that vast scope of viability and allow yourself to be purposeful and receptive to love.
How do you define love?
What does love mean to you?
How do you tackle love with intention?
Love – be an active participant without hesitation.
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