Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

It’s a time of resolutions.

We are one year removed from the fateful beginning of The Year of the Pandemic in America. No more needs to be said about this year of our discontent. Thankfully there are signs of hope. The third deadly wave seems to be waning and vaccinations are taking hold. Maybe, just maybe, an end is in sight.

Along with our changing fortunes come aspirations and wishes. What we determine to do, to be, and to believe once the storm has passed. It’s natural, isn’t it, to try to make meaning out of pain and bewilderment.

May I suggest one resolution that towers over them all? One lifestyle shift that will shape your destiny. It is this: I will love.

You know the kind of love I am referencing. Not affection, not intimacy, not even friendship. Richard Rohr in his book The Universal Christ describes it.

“Love involves making a clear decision, but at its heart, it is not a matter of mind or willpower, but a flow of energy willingly allowed and exchanged, without requiring payment in return.”

 Love at its essence is “sacrifice, forgiveness and generosity.”

 “Love is constantly creating future possibilities for the good of all concerned – even, and especially, when things go wrong. Love allows and accommodates everything in human experience, both the good and the bad, and nothing else can really do this. Nothing. Love flows unstoppably downward, around every obstacle – like water.”

This is why to focus on your calling or set your eyes on your destiny is to love. In your way, based on your life story, your personality, your unique gifts and passions, you “create future possibilities for the good of all concerned. “

That is your destiny. To meet the world and your fellow human beings at their point of need. To bring healing. To fight for justice. To stand against hatred. To steward the creation. To help people find themselves and God.

To love.

May I suggest an unofficial anthem for the end of the pandemic and reentry into living? How about the Beatles 1967 classic…

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It’s easy.

Nothing you can make that can’t be made.
No one you can save that can’t be saved.
Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time.
It’s easy

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known.
Nothing you can see that isn’t shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be. It’s easy

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.