Love is immersible. It transcends all boundaries and takes all forms. It is ever-changing, ever-fulfilling, and ever crying out to fulfill its purpose. We are all crying out for love. I have held so many loves in my life, from strangers on sidewalks, to teddy bears held so tight their fur matts and stuffing squishes beyond recognition. I find love in the ground beneath my feet, the words overheard on phone calls at bus stops, the feel of skin against skin as windows cast moonlight on twisted figures, the promise of presence, and the look of knowing and understanding in another person’s eyes. I find love in the romantic, familial, platonic, humanistic, environmental, spiritual, sensual, and sexual. I find love in creations of affection I’ve never seen in media, in holding toes like hands under blankets, in drives to doctors’ appointments, in heavy breaths and shallow ones. You are a being of love, and your capacity to hold it within you, reflect it, and share it is so infinite. I find love in my friendship with others. In transexuality, and the transcendence from what my body should be to what it truly is, in the acceptance of my form through others’ eyes and understandings. Without the love I’ve seen from others, I would have never learned to love myself. I find love in every inch of me; the freckles on my arms, and the hair on my stomach, and in the parts of myself only others have seen. There is so much of me unknown to myself. But every day I learn more from you. We grow within each other, we grow away from cycles and find ourselves in new movements of recognition, change, and power. Knowing and being known are among the most powerful realizations of love. The moment when you know that you are being seen and your actions are being understood for not just their impacts but their histories. As well as when you look at someone and see past their unintentional facades and deep into the recesses of their soul, heart, and mind, and understand that they are love themselves. I think the world tries to beat love out of you. You are constantly bombarded with images of the worst sufferings in human history and expected to stand indifferent to them. You bear witness to immeasurable levels of self-cruelty and violence and are expected to stand back and allow it to be so. You are not permitted to offer love, acceptance, and care to those you do not know for fear of retaliation, social othering, or complete isolation. This is not the way the world should be. To show constant, unwavering love to people simply because of their personhood is a radical act. The truest and most powerful loves are just around the corner for you, but you need to create them. Show kindness, compassion, and understanding to all those you encounter; be the person who radiates the human urge to love. Treat the world with as much love and affection as you would your own family, partner, or friend. When you begin to treat each person as capable, good, and true, you will finally see yourself as such. Love and nonviolence are difficult to cultivate fully, but when you do, you will truly see how much your world can change.
You should know:
I care about you.
You have value.
You DON’T have to do anything to prove it and…
There is NOTHING you can do to change my mind about the above.