Love

What do I say about love that hasn’t already been said before? What do I write here that separates me from the millions of poets and lovers who have come before me, and spoke about their notion of love? A lot has been said about love and the idea of it.

What I want to write about is the love for your art. What you do. When I listen to Carl Sagan talk about space, I don’t feel happy or moved at his words, I feel jealous. And that’s not because he found his calling. I don’t think there is such a thing as calling. That’s just a glamorized concept sold to us by charlatans. I feel jealous because Sagan decided that this is what he wanted to do, and he did not let go. What you describe as ‘found his calling’, I call hard work. As John Mayer said correctly ‘Love ain’t a thing, love is a verb’. Its about action, conscious and determined. Through that action, and the fruit it bears, comes love. Sometimes taking that action requires all the courage you can summon, and that makes all the difference in the world.

One of the biggest things I wanted to do for myself this year was finding the courage to take that action. Create the art that I want to create. And so on this Valentine’s Day, I wish that courage for you and me. Let’s find the courage to work hard. The love will follow.