is not what we’ve been taught it is
we do not fall In Love
we do not swim in a Sea of Love
with our lover

when we Choose Love
it is a sober decision
made by our heart, not our mind
not merely felt
made not by attraction of any kind

it is a state of being into which we step
being is tangible and alive
it is motion, direction, choice
it is not shifting sand
but consistency - a rock on which to build

falling in is accident
stepping in is purposeful
Love is universal not singular
Love accepts, does not reject
Love cherishes and caresses
it upholds and defends
does not look negatively or judge
it is ecumenical but not religious

Love is neither a cult nor a culture
it needs nothing to engender it
being Is
being In is stepping over a threshold
into ourselves
it is recognizing that we are Love already
and cannot fall into it ever
Love Is Being human
if we would let it


c. 2024 Roberta Compton Rainwater