The Greatest of These is Love

Love is, in my estimation, the most priceless and precious gift any human being can give or receive. It is the very essence of life and the one thing most sought after by all.  Love can feel like the gentlest of breezes on a warm summer day, or its intensity can literally take your breath away. Love can be pure and innocent, like that which a child gives and receives, or it can be fraught with complex and diverse emotions, sometimes making it an almost bitter pill to swallow.
    Love can enable us to open our hearts, our minds and our spirits to great and wondrous experiences. It can move us to do things, believe things and act in ways we may never have imagined.  Sometimes, we may find ourselves feeling conflict or distress, because of the power love may hold in our lives.
    Love can prompt us to let go of our own demons, give wings to our dreams, hopes and desires, as well as allow us to set free the very people we hold most dear in this world, so that they, too, can accomplish the same.
     Love can take on so many forms – love of neighbor, of parent to child and child to parent, love of family members and friends, romantic love, love of life and of learning, of institutions, beliefs, customs and traditions, as well as any infinite number of things we can conjure up.   Love can come easily or need to be cultivated and nurtured over time. Love must always be respected and never taken for granted (although this is very often not the case). Love must be flexible – able to change and grow in countless ways, over a lifetime. Love, in its truest and purist form is patient and kind. Real love does not constrict or bind, but grants permission to simply be, without judgment or consequence.
     The power of love can move mountains, restore faith, give hope, and bring about positive and lasting change in our world, in our lives, in our hearts and in our relationships.  It is a beautiful, fragile and yet incredibly powerful emotion, from which all others stem. Love transcends all things, while bringing beauty, depth and joy to all in its embrace.  In allowing the vulnerability true love necessitates, to permeate our hearts, we become stronger and richer than ever before. We live lives of true meaning, give service to others and cherish the glory and wonder of being alive!

Maria DiGiorgio is a lifelong New Yorker, who currently resides in Commack, with her family.  She is a devoted wife and mother, an educator and designer. Maria
is active in her community, as a PTA mom and Girl Scout leader.  She has a passion for interior decorating and loves to garden. She is an avid reader, and enjoys writing about life experiences and parenthood, as well as her personal observations about the world around us.