“We all long for love. Everything else is just killing time.”
–Kenny Loggins
Most people hear the word “love” and immediately think of long white dresses, tuxes and diamond rings. Our tendency to associate love with romance is a gaping blind spot. Not only are there millions of people to love (forget your quest to zero in on Mr. or Ms. Right), but there are million of ideas, millions of causes, million of quests to fall in love with.
Take Dale Price, for example. This stay-at-home dad from American Fork, Utah, has spent the past three years waving at his high school son’s bus dressed in weird costumes, a different one every day. It started the first day of his son’s sophomore year when he realized the bus, for the first time, would drive down their street. Price greeted the bus (and his embarrassed son) that first day wearing a football helmet. From there, his creativity grew. He has waved at the bus dressed as Elvis, Fred Flintstone, Santa Claus and, once, a lampshade. He and Rain, the red-faced son, ended up on Good Morning America and the resulting blog, Wave at the Bus, has received millions of hits and raised money for Rain’s college fund, although his dad is quick to admit it may also end up being used for therapy.
Or take Matt Harding who fell in love with traveling. In 2003, while in Hanoi, his traveling buddy videotaped him dancing, a rather kooky arm-flapping, march popular with adolescent boys at middle school dances. And then he videotaped Matt dancing in Tonga. And in the Philippines, Mali and the Panama Canal. The video on the resulting “Where the Hell is Matt?” website shows a grinning Matt bouncing up and down in 69 countries. What’s more, the underlying, if unplanned message of unbounded human joy and connection comes across loud and clear.
“There are no words on the video and I’m not trying to get anybody to doing anything,” Harding say, “It just makes people happy.”
The point is, there are lots of ways to make people happy, lots of ways to love. Don’t sit around waiting for your soul mate. Be crazy with love. Love when it makes no sense. Love in all it bewildering ways, shapes and styles.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
One Response
“Where the Hell is Matt?” is one of my favorite all-time series of videos! Thanks for reminding me about it – I’ll re-watch one or two, just to amp my “wriggle with happiness” energy!