The Presence of Love

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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I looked a hundred times and all I saw was dust. The sun broke through and flecks of gold filled the air. – Mark Nepo

Thoughts about the presence of love.

Love is love.

As a child, I was taught that God is love. In Confirmation. In Religion class. When studying the Bible. When studying religions of the world. The God I grew to understand was simply love. That made sense to me. That way, God did not have a specific name. God was not the property of a singular religion. God was not a source a judgment and condemnation. Most importantly, if God is love, then I knew what to do – be the hands of God in the world.

Love is a choice.

We have a choice to love. At this time, when division and cruelty and hate seem to ooze from the very pores of the earth, we must choose love. Choose love when we wake up. Choose love when we are sharing meals and work and rest . The simple choice to love is offered everyday in big and small ways. Big love choices, like forgiveness and vulnerability, Even small decisions Love makes a difference.

We see what we are looking for.

When we look for cruelty, we see cruelty. When we look for kindness, we see kindness. When we look for despair, we see despair. When we look for love, we see love. Focusing our gaze on love does not negate or deny the existence of negativity, rather it allows us to actually see love. Focusing our gaze on love keeps love from getting lost amidst the overwhelmingness of pain and suffering in the world. In seeing love, we create more love.

Love is everywhere.

Once we start to feel the presence of love in our lives, we understand love is everywhere. We feel love in our relationships. We live love in our work. We set loving goals. We support the loving work of others. We share love stories. In that way the sun breaks through.