Love is in the Little Things

 

Opening Words:

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

~Mary Oliver

 

Sermon: Love is in the Small Things

Love is in the little things.

I’m walking down the 16^th street mall in Denver holding my Free Hugs sign, feeling a little despondent that no one has asked for a hug yet. I’ve seen plenty of people who I think need one—the homeless man on the corner huddled up in his sleeping bag, the businessman talking on the phone who’s obviously stressed and overworked, the teenager with the baggy jeans and black band T-shirt scowling at the ground. And yet, none of them have the boldness, or maybe just the recklessness to come get a hug from the silly blue haired girl with a sign. Then, out of nowhere, I feel something at my side. I look down to see a boy who can’t be older than ten years old clinging to me and smiling radiantly up at my face. Feeling his enthusiasm, I reach my arms over and embrace him, putting every ounce of warmth and presence I have into my smile. After a few minutes of solid and meaningful hugging, he breaks away. I look up to see a woman, presumably his mom, standing next to me. She opens her mouth to speak, but instead immediately breaks down crying. I’m a bit confused, but accept her into my embrace as well. When she calms down, she says through her tears that her son is autistic and nonverbal, and that she has never seen him smile before in her life.

Another time, I was giving Free Hugs in downtown Colorado Springs with a group of other Unitarian Universalist youth. As we stood on the corner by Starbucks, a woman approached us and a bit sardonically said, “I like what you’re doing, but who would ever actually accept a hug from a stranger?” before going into Starbucks to get her coffee. About an hour later, the same woman came out and walked back over to us. “I’ve been watching you,” she said. “And I think I’ve changed my mind. I would like a hug.”  She then hugged every single one of us, and her face burst into an infectious smile. She then proceeded to hug the next four people she saw walking down the street.

Love is in the everyday moments.

I have taken the Free Hugs Campaign very seriously since I first experienced it in high school. I hand-made my own sign with construction paper and a permanent marker and folded it up so I could carry it everywhere in my backpack. I made it a daily practice during college to stand in the plaza for an hour after class giving hugs to other stressed students. I’ve spent time in the downtown areas of many cities, giving free hugs to houseless folks and people from all backgrounds. At Colorado State University, I’ve proudly held my sign in the free speech plaza, competing with the man who held the “You’re all going to Hell” sign. The day after both Trump elections, I donned my sign and went out to hug my neighbors at the University of Denver and in downtown Fort Collins. I have held countless crying people, laughing people, shy people, and people who weren’t sure if they really felt comfortable hugging a stranger. Some of my closest friends in college met me because I gave them a hug when they needed one. To me, giving Free Hugs has been some of my most serious social justice work.

Love is in the simplest, most human actions.

One day when I was heading to class, I saw a totally different person holding a Free Hugs sign in the plaza. I went out of my way to hug them, not telling them who I was or my connection to the movement. I simply reveled in the sense that I was not alone.

Love is a practice of doing mundane things for non-mundane reasons.

I believe that a single hug can change the world. I believe that moments of genuine human connection are what make us whole. I believe that sharing love with a stranger is real and essential to creating a world we want to live in. When I hug someone, I am not thinking about how they look, or how they believe, or how they can contribute to society. Instead, I am taking a moment to say “I see you” in all of your flaws and weaknesses, in your vulnerability and struggle. I see you and I accept you as equally worthy of love and understanding.

I try to take this mentality into my personal life as well. If I can share such love with strangers, then it is doubly important for me to share it with those I care about. I give out hugs to my friends and family freely. I say “I love you” to people on a regular basis and mean it. I listen when they talk and allow them to share their fullest and truest selves with me. I move with intention in my relationships to show gratitude.

Love is something we can all do.

You don’t have to be crazy enough to make a Free Hugs sign and offer yourself up to strangers to spread love. Love is so much simpler than that. Love can be holding the door open for someone. Love can be saying hello to a houseless person on the corner. Love can be making the bed. Love can be laughing with your child or listening when your friend speaks. The only condition for love is that we show up in our lives with intentionality. I believe that love is in the small things. I believe that these small things amount to something so much bigger than ourselves. I believe this love is a force with the power to change the world. I believe that love is the only way we can change the world. And, most of all, I believe that we are all capable of spreading this love through every action we take. So I ask you, what are you going to do to practice love today?

 

Closing Words:

Even after all this time

The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe Me.”

Look what happens with

A love like that,

It lights the Whole Sky.

~Hafiz