Seasons of Love
The other night I was browsing through some choral music selections I could recommend as possible songs for my community chorus next year. I came across one of my favorites. It is called Seasons of Love from the award winning Broadway musical Rent. I always thought it was a catchy tune, but never paid much attention to the words. So I listened, and it hit home.Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year;
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee,
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
How do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? Measure in love! Seasons of love!
How will you measure this past year? We have many standards. I have a friend who measures how far he has pedaled his bike. I have another friend that looks at golf scores. I might look at how much money I made or what professional accomplishments I have achieved. Others look at how their favorite sports team performed. We all have different standards of what we consider to be success.
But the song tells us to measure the year in love. What a simple but abstract concept! How can you measure a year of love? It is unquantifiable. You don’t go to the deli and ask for a pound of love sliced thin, or measure out a cup of love or a bushel of love. Yet the idea of measuring a year in love is comforting, especially in the times we live in where we are lucky if we experience even basic civility and common courtesy. Everybody is so angry these days.
I think modern America has forgotten how to love. In a digital age with all sorts of stuff being blasted at us from all sorts of places 24/7, our over stimulated minds are barely functional trying to get through daily life let alone having to worry about love. Love? Love what? Love whom? Who is going to love me? Are you nuts?
Think in terms of macro vs. micro love. Let's face it. We all struggle on a daily basis with loving our neighbor....especially if the neighbor is a pain in the ass!!! People are people and I know I'm not capable of putting a dumb "peace of God" smile on my face when somebody or something makes me angry. I'm more "give the finger to the guy who cut you you off with his car" type. Don't even mention family issues. As one of my relatives told me...sometimes things are too broken to be fixed.
On the other hand, there is the sage who said "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand." Maybe that's the ticket!!!! Those of us who are children of the sixties understand that All You Need is Love, and What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love...It's the only thing there is just to little of!!! Maybe there is something to that.
How does one approach life? If you start with love, then you start to pay it forward. Love doesn't mean that you have to have a Kumbaya moment where you drop out of life and go live on a commune. It doesn't mean that you need to give all of your money to the poor. I like money. It's a good thing. It doesn't even mean you have to be a liberal!!!!! On the other hand, if you measure the small things you do, and add up the little courtesies, meet new people with an open mind and with respect, then you start to accomplish something good.
It's like the insurance commercial where it follows a single act of kindness that moves through the day from person to person. Opening a door for someone whose arms are full of whatever, letting someone cut into a line of traffic even if they don't thank you, telling someone how nice they look, offering a warm and genuine handshake, making someone laugh, putting your arm around the elderly guy in church and wishing him a sincere Happy Birthday when he turns ninety...the traditional Italian birthday greeting "100 years", all of these things help measure your life in love.
These are simple rules. Reach out to people in pain. Help those that you can. Forgive those you are able and come to terms with yourself if you can't. That's how you build a year of love and a lifetime of love.
As we are about to celebrate Christmas, the true season of love, maybe the collective we should learn how to celebrate four full seasons of love. Merry Christmas.
Think in terms of macro vs. micro love. Let's face it. We all struggle on a daily basis with loving our neighbor....especially if the neighbor is a pain in the ass!!! People are people and I know I'm not capable of putting a dumb "peace of God" smile on my face when somebody or something makes me angry. I'm more "give the finger to the guy who cut you you off with his car" type. Don't even mention family issues. As one of my relatives told me...sometimes things are too broken to be fixed.
On the other hand, there is the sage who said "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand." Maybe that's the ticket!!!! Those of us who are children of the sixties understand that All You Need is Love, and What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love...It's the only thing there is just to little of!!! Maybe there is something to that.
How does one approach life? If you start with love, then you start to pay it forward. Love doesn't mean that you have to have a Kumbaya moment where you drop out of life and go live on a commune. It doesn't mean that you need to give all of your money to the poor. I like money. It's a good thing. It doesn't even mean you have to be a liberal!!!!! On the other hand, if you measure the small things you do, and add up the little courtesies, meet new people with an open mind and with respect, then you start to accomplish something good.
It's like the insurance commercial where it follows a single act of kindness that moves through the day from person to person. Opening a door for someone whose arms are full of whatever, letting someone cut into a line of traffic even if they don't thank you, telling someone how nice they look, offering a warm and genuine handshake, making someone laugh, putting your arm around the elderly guy in church and wishing him a sincere Happy Birthday when he turns ninety...the traditional Italian birthday greeting "100 years", all of these things help measure your life in love.
These are simple rules. Reach out to people in pain. Help those that you can. Forgive those you are able and come to terms with yourself if you can't. That's how you build a year of love and a lifetime of love.
As we are about to celebrate Christmas, the true season of love, maybe the collective we should learn how to celebrate four full seasons of love. Merry Christmas.
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