Come here, children; look there, look to your elders; see them walking hand in hand, man and wife, friend and friend, lover and loved; pray that that is your portion, yet do not be frightened of it when it is given to you; for love is not as your friends or your books or your TVs say it is; no matter how hell-bent you are on finding fool’s gold, it will come to nothing but dust; learn from the divorce rate, the number of fatherless children, the wars, the rapes, and the amount of hatred in this world; believe me, my sons, my daughters; they do not know what love is.
Do not ask who knows, for I know you would not ask them if you knew; watch for love, my sons, my daughters, learn for yourself what love is; you will know it for what it is for it is pure, and every human being can discern purity in the depth of their soul; do not be offended by it when you find it, for purity tends to shine a light in the places we would prefer to keep in darkness; do not let your feelings be your only guide, for it is emotions that has turned love into a rare thing; search for the signs: kindness, humility, respect, obedience, suffering; do not close your ears even if you do not believe me; listen, my children; love me in this way, that I may teach you how to find love for yourselves.
Where there are kind works, kind words, kind gestures, kind thoughts, there is love; but discern, my children, for some works are a mask to hide grotesque features, and some words are clothing to hide the wolf from the sheep; see your sister — there she goes, fooled by a man with roses in his hands; now she is crying, but she will no doubt be there again; she does not know what love is, children, learn from her mistakes.
Once you know love, my daughter, my sons, cherish it where it is shown to you; do not hide from it, nor be afraid that it might disappear and tear your heart in two; for if it leaves, it is better gone, and you may celebrate the love you had; see your brother — he prefers the steadiness of love from his material possessions than from people; but how can things love, Mother?; now you’re listening: they cannot, they can only love as much as the dead, but he will learn this when his heart yearns for what he could never accept from the living.
Come closer my son, my daughter, for I must remind you not to withhold love; you hear people saying that large hearts can love anyone, but I tell you, my children, large hearts can love everyone; therefore do not hate, for hatred is a poison that you take yourself for the other to die; see your sister — she speaks with her friends the thoughts of judgment and closed-mindedness she should never have in the first place; see how she argues without a thought to listen, see how she sharpens her words to pierce the heart of her unfortunate opponent; but she is successful, Mother; her success will mean nothing once her inability to love sucks away whatever love she had.
Listen to me, my son, and understand that love is precious because it costs so much to receive, and even more to give; only true love withstands the storms of life, and only true love will put themselves down to die for a friend; love suffers long, and it is humble, it is not easily offended, and it does not desire evil on anyone; let your heart grow, my child, for though it is hard, it will bless the lives of your friends, your wife, your children; but I am tired, Mother; your tiredness will be nothing compared to the joy that will come once you persevere in love.
Hello, little one, come here, my grandchild; look to your father — see how he has left your mother, saying that he no longer loves her; do not let your heart turn hard, my child, do not let hatred’s poison fill you; learn from his mistakes, for he does not know what love is; listen to me, that I may teach you what love looks like; why must I learn, Grandma?; so that you will be able to teach your children how to love.
