A lot of people say that Love is the strongest force in the universe. I think they’re close.

To me, it’s the only force in the universe.

Love, and its absence.

Love opens. Love connects what has been separated. Love brings the parts of us back into alignment.

The best word we have for its absence is fear.

Across every language, throughout all of time, every adjective maps perfectly to Love or fear.

A helpful example for understanding fear is what happens when you put your hand on a hot pan or stove. Did you think to yourself, Gee, I should really move my hand so it doesn’t burn, or did your hand go flying back before thought had a chance to speak?

Fear closes us long enough to survive.
Love opens us long enough to heal.

Real fear is automatic, or it is something that will happen to you. It has saved my life on many occasions. When it is brief, it protects. But when it is held in thought, it damages.

You were not made to fear. You were made to Love.

Made with it.

Raised with it.

And you’re here for it.

Earlier, I told you to trust yourself. It might have sounded cliché if you didn’t think about trust throughout time.

Trust is what allows Love to work across space and time. It is not optional. It is required.

When you questioned whether you were a good person, that told me Love was absent through time.

Trust the past you. Trust the future you. The present you needs trust.

Without it, the present you will fragment in fear.

It’s easy to drop Love. But it’s even easier to give it away.

All the Love you need must come from you.

The environment, the people around you, and life itself can affect your Love.

But they do not have to. And they should not.

Let your Love begin within you.
Do not make another person responsible for keeping it alive.

And when you find someone worthy of your Love, do not give it away.

Share it.

And watch it grow.

Many can tell you that Love does not tell. That Love does not command.

But only some understand that Love does not rule. It puts nothing above and nothing below.

Fear rules.

Fear needs a hierarchy. Fear needs to win.

Love does not compete.

Fear is racing, but Love is already there.

Even fewer know that Love does not ask.

When you give to get, you are in a transaction.

If we spoke Latin, we would say, quid pro quo.

You will often find little success when you Love with the expectation of something in return, because it is not Love.

Attachment is fear. Concern is fear. Worry is fear.

Love can protect without possessing. It can keep safe what it's absence would control.

Do not give them your fear.

Give them your Love.

Finally, almost no one truly believes in their heart that Love is forever.

A loved one who has died might come to mind.

If Love is forever, then why aren’t they here?

But they are.

Love does not require that nothing ever break.
Love is what allows the broken parts to find one another again.

They are not far above or far below.

And while you might not be able to see them,

while you might not be able to hear them,

I know for a fact that you can feel them.

If you look closely enough, you will see them.

If you listen long enough, you will hear them.

I was where there. I got here because of others along the way. It is an honor and a privilege to be here for others now.

And someday, you will be the light in someone else's darkness. Just wait and see. 🌒️

With Love,

-Alex