Just like love

My companion, coffee, now cold, and I were cruising down the highway when I saw a curious sight.  A "one way" sign with a graffiti tag saying "I <3 Dominic".  Which got me thinking, who is this Dominic?  Does the tagger still love Dominic?  Was it a dizzying intoxication, a dare, or a longer-termed affliction which caused the artist to declare their love in such a way?  Indeed, was there only "one way" to say it?

And maybe it's Valentine's day coming quickly that has me hypersensitive to the love around me.  But not the candy, chocolate, consuming kind-- but the kind which consumes and defines who we are.  I was thinking about the love which surrounds me, in all its expressions.  It seems to me that I spend an awful lot of time thinking about who I am and how I am defined.  What I miss is that I am only defined and gifted identity through the eyes of those who love me.  Who I am is composed of a web of who I love, and who loves me (which is not always the same thing).

I am glad that love is a practice.  A practice which I cannot do in a vacuum, I need the other to practice love, I need a community.  And practice means I can make mistakes, and the grace of how we meet each other held in this web of love means I can grow into who I am to be, and who and how I love shapes me.  There is room in practicing to be proficient, and to be insufficient, each held with their intention in mind.

These are the things which strike me today.  This is what I am learning.  How is love shaping you into the person you are meant to be?

For a collection of visuals on the subject: http://pinterest.com/erikagrace/just-like-love/