EPL #1: A Destiny of Love

"An act of love, a voluntary taking on oneself of some of the pain of the world, increases the courage and love and hope of all." ~ Dorothy Day

Here goes Eat Pray Love week!

In the movie (and in the book on page 149 for those of you who want to follow along and see more context), Richard from Texas befriends Elizabeth Gilbert (who he calls "Groceries" because she eats more than anyone he's ever seen) while they are both studying meditation in India. One day, they are discussing Elizabeth's struggles and pain and her broken heart. She laments over the fact that she truly loved her ex husband.

Richard looks at her and says, "Groceries, I think you have the capacity to love the whole world. It's your destiny."

I loved the idea of this the moment the words came out of his mouth. What a beautiful thought---that someone could have enough love inside them to love the whole world. And that something this amazing could be a person's destiny.

This isn't some new idea....this is exactly the destiny that Jesus calls us to. He explains that there are three things that last forever: faith, hope and love. Of these, love is the greatest. (1 Cor. 13:13) He instructs us to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:36-40)

I think that sometimes, we are selfish with love. We think of the world "love" and our minds go directly to Mr. Right and our beautiful wedding dress and happily ever after. I blame society for putting all of this pressure on people about marriage and "falling in love." But what if, instead of just focusing on one person when we think about love, we focused on the world?

After that line, I feel the need for some disclaimers to keep the phone calls and emails at bay. First off, I'm not talking about polygamy....I can see a few of my friends hearing me talk about not focusing on loving one person and picturing me living in the mountains with a guy who has three wives. Not the point, people, not the point. Second, I'm not saying that we should not fall madly in love with Mr. Right (goodness knows I plan to when he finds his way out of the forest) and have the beautiful wedding dress and happy ever after.

What I'm saying is.....what if we have even MORE love to give? What if within us, we have the capacity to show love to the whole world? How different would our lives be if we accepted this challenge? How different would the world be?

We can make small changes in this direction. Speak to people in the elevator. Smile at someone when you pass them on the street. Volunteer for causes that are close to your heart. Send your friends a card or a quick phone call to let them know you are thinking about them. Pray for the people in the world who are hurting. All of us have the ability to do this type of things in our lives every single day.

I like to think that Richard from Texas was onto something. That maybe we all have the capacity to love the whole world. Think of the kind of place the world would be if that really is our destiny.