The love in your heart

I know I am spinning an old tune about love and all those related stuff but you just got to know that one of the greatest, or perhaps the greatest asset you will ever possess is the burning love in your heart.

Many, many moons ago when I was studying at a La Sallian School, there was this Christian Brother who taught us cathecism.

In one of his morning lectures, he said there was this saint who had so much love in his heart that he had to put a wet towel over his chest so that it could cool down.

When the laughter finally died down in class, we all concluded that too many prayers had affected the brother's sanity.

Now after several decades, I am not sure any more. Love can make some of us do crazy things. Yes, some people express their love in some very strange ways.

But if you have love and nothing else to your name, then you are a rich man indeed. Wealth in the material sense is always welcome but it may not last because of the vicissitudes of fate.

Health too has its statutory limitation because our physical forms do not allow an unlimited period of trouble-free life or unreasonable longevity. Thus, that leaves love.

Love is intangible and so long as you have an abundance of it in you, the aura will shine through your being. It will come through your smile, and it will affect everybody who comes into contact with you.

Love is that thing that has an unlimited warranty. It is even better than some of those items you buy in the supermarket that say "lifetime warranty".

Love outlasts everything I can think of. It is what creates revolutions, causes changes in history and holds families together for generations.

Love is free. It needs no maintenance and it will act as a warm blanket in the winter of your life. It will even cushion any hardship that you may experience in this lifetime.

Be comforted by the fact that God understands the language of love very well. If you speak with love to God, he hears you all the time. If you treat everybody with love, they will respond in kind.

Love is that universal language that even animals can feel and empathise with. It is given freely to everyone. It is here to stay and it will continue to remain long after you have left this planet.

THINK OF THE FOLKS BACK HOME!
One of the greatest treasures largely unheralded is your mum and dad. Yes, you can get off the chair now and call them on the phone and wish them well.

They may experience some heart palpitations due to your unexpected action but the effort will be worth it, I assure you.

Many of us grown-ups think we are so independent that we won't call our parents most of the year because we don't want them to know we are "mama's boy" or just being a wimp.

We may even harbour the idea that if we call them too often, somebody may find out and tease us. That part about being attached to apron's strings is all nonsense.

Showing an open affection for your parents is admirable. More people should do that. It is nothing to be ashamed of. One day, when your children have reached adult status, you will begin to get the whole picture.

All this is dependent on whether or not you are lucky enough to find a mate and then againt depending on the grace and generosity of the Lord, you will have children.

I can say all this with some degree of confidence because my parents have passed away. I do miss them. Not as much as I would like because I stayed away from home for a number of years.

But my dad, God bless his soul, understood my situation because he too grew up under similar circumstances but as a parent myself, it is always heartwarming to have your children, young or grown-up calling up to enquire how you are and whether you have been having your meals.

It is such a simple act of concern and consideration. To call up your mum or your dad doesn't require any effort except lifting up your mobile.

If you can spend two hours in the cinema, you can spend five minutes talking to your mum. Yes, they have independent lives of their own. They may even be working but I assure you, they will never get tired of hearing from you.

It is small compensation for bringing you up, changing your diapers, worrying about your health, taking you to see the doctor when you are sick and coughing, crying for you in silence when you are in pain or in trouble, etc.

These are some of the things they don't teach you as a parent in books. Some of the finest and most worthy lessons as a parent is doing it all for free and out of love.

When you become a father or mother for the first time, it is a special experience. When you later grow old, as time will guarantee it, your children will leave the nest to set up their own households.

It is the twilight time for you as a parent. And the cycle goes on. From father to son, and then son to father.

Thus it is an opportunity to express your appreciation of what your parents have done for you, when you call them to say, not in so many words, but those little unspoken gestures that you love them; that you will always love them; that when it's time for them to leave this world, their lives have been worth living, and yours too if you do the right thing.