What Is Love First?
A lexicon for the universal language of love.
Note: this is a Legacy story, preserved but superseded by the Love First Reboot.
Love is a many splendored thing
Love lifts us up where we belong
All you need is love!
Everyone has a different understanding of what “love” is. Some consider it in fundamental terms, like an emotion or virtue, while others see it as a force of nature. There are those who take an artistic or abstract view, like a song or simply acceptance.
I think love is all of that, and more — and I’m on a mission to show it.
Love is the secret ingredient in carefully home-cooked meals, the sensation making your passionate efforts rewarding, that powerful feeling when something speaks profoundly to your values.
Love is the language of all those qualities, and Love First is the lexicon explaining them.
We are all fluent in multiple languages. Beyond the ones we speak and write, people also communicate in tone and body language. They aren’t languages we are taught explicitly, but we understand them intuitively, and recognize the different meanings to similar things said but with different tones or gesticulation. Love is just one more dimension of that, like an energy signature for your actions. Metadata you can embed into your work like the hidden information stored in digital photos.
You can think of Love First as EXIF data for adding love to your life.
The more fluent you are in this lexicon, composed of the Principles of Love First, the more you’ll be able to automatically embed its benefits and qualities into everything you do, and the more you’ll start to recognize and see the love in the world all around you. You’ll become more attuned to what is a “love-filled” action, and one that is devoid of it. You’ll find yourself making kinder assumptions, jumping to fewer negative conclusions, and experience more harmonious communication with other people.
The practices in Love First teach you to take back control over your emotional and psychological well-being, and become the agent of your thoughts and feelings — rather than letting external events cause you to be reactionary and frustrated. As a result of living by it on a daily basis, you may even find yourself enjoying (like I have for the past two years) a less anxious, less stressful, and less depressed life.
But Love First is not just this lexicon for love, and the practices and principles to embody it. It is the idea of love, deconstructed and better understood, exemplified in countless ways. As part of the long journey of sharing and explaining the full extent of Love First, there will be a series of essays called Made With Love First that examine the stories and creations of others that exhibit many powerful examples of Love First in action. Because nothing about love is new—and these Principles have been showcased in stories going back to the very origins of human history.
Lastly, there is the story of love itself, like a voice from the universe speaking back to us, acknowledging the cries of agony from people and our planet alike. Our world is in pain, people all around us are struggling and hurting. When we see suffering, compassion rises within us and we bring forth our greatest weapon in the fight against darkness:
Love.
Where do you think we learned that from?
