When life gives us an excuse to express our love, we should take advantage of it.
We should not need a reason, an occasion, or a special day to let people know that we love them, but sometimes we get too busy, too distracted, or simply forget to do so unprompted.
Sometimes we need a reminder and that is okay.
The problem with taking a purely scientific approach to public policy is that science does not account for humanity.
Science has no feelings.
Science does not care about the people behind the data.
It can’t.
Feelings are not science.
Caring is not science.
Science is objective.
But we are not objects.
We are humans.
We do not operate on logic alone.
We have feelings.
We have hopes.
We have desires.
We have dreams.
We have opinions.
And, quite often, these have nothing to do with logic at all.
They can’t.
If humans only consider what is, nothing changes.
We have to fantasize.
We have to imagine what can be.
We have to dream about the world we want to create.
We have to hope to improve our lives, ourselves, our relationships, and our circumstances, and then we have to act.
We have to do this even if it defies logic altogether.
We have to do this especially when it defies logic altogether.
Life is not improved by accepting what is.
We do not improve by accepting what is.
Improvement comes from reaching beyond what is into what was never before thought possible.
Science does not value our lives.
Science has no values.
It is nothing more than a method for studying the world and improving our lives.
When science fails to do this, its usefulness to us is negated.
This is our life.
This is our world.
This is our only opportunity to live.
When humanity defers to science and forgets about humanity itself, we have lost.
We have failed.
Science does not consider the psychological and emotional turmoil and devastation caused by policies created in its’ name until that turmoil and devastation becomes a trend significant enough to study.
By then it is too late.
The damage will already have been done.
Do we really want to wait until then before we realize that we need connection, before we realize that we need communion, and before we realize that community is more important than the dubious safety of sterile isolation?
Science does not care about anxiety.
Science does not care about loneliness.
Science does not care about depression.
Science does not care about confusion, frustration, and hopelessness.
That is left to us.
We must choose to care.
We must choose each other.
We must choose to rise above our fears.
We must choose to care about what is going on inside of us and in those around us, not just what the data tells us.
We must choose to put humanity first, actual humanity.
We must choose humanness.
This is not a denial of science.
This is an affirmation of that which science is intended to improve.
This is an affirmation of our lives, our needs, and of all that make us more than what science alone can explain.
We must stop pretending that science can save us from pain, from loss, and from toil.
The best science can do is to mitigate these, but if the mitigation itself robs us of hope, of community, and of purpose, it has robbed us of that which makes life worth living in the first place.
We are not here to serve science.
We are here to serve each other, to serve humanity, and to express our humanness in all of its beautiful imperfection.
Science may allow us to study this and may help to inform us in the way that we do it, but a life lived based on science alone is not likely to be a life worth living.
We deserve better and we must demand better.
We all experience hardships at one point or another in our lives.
Our task, our responsibility actually, is to do our best to not pass these hardships on to others.
This is no easy feat.
We did not become who we are overnight.
It may take us a lifetime to uncover, understand, and resolve the negative experiences that have shaped our character and that influence the way that we interact with others.
While these experiences may explain certain things about us and our relationships, they do not excuse us from trying to do better.
We must try to do better.
Whatever we have been through, no matter how traumatic, is likely not our fault, but, perhaps more importantly, it is also not the fault of the people who have come into our lives since.
As terrible and unfortunate as our experiences may have been in our past, the people in our present do not deserve to suffer because to them.
The people in our lives deserve better from us than the worst of our experiences.
If we hope to live happy, fulfilling lives with relationships to match, we will have to figure out a way to be for others who others were not for us.
This will be difficult and, at times, it will not feel fair, but this is our only chance to transcend our pain and transform it into love.
Every once in a while, it is important to take a moment to reflect on all of the lives that have influenced us and helped to shape us to become who we are now.
These are the people who have passed through our lives or us theirs and who have since passed on.
It is up to us to remember them so that their impact on the world remains long after they are gone.
In this way, these people, our family, or friends, and our teachers who are no longer here, continue to live on through us.
Their words, their deeds, and their intentions exist in who we are and in the changes we make on the world.
We would not, we could not, be who we are today without them.
We carry their memories in our hearts, but, from time to time, we should bring them to the forefront of our consciousness to reflect on who they were, what they meant to us, and what their impact on us means to the lives of those around us.
Our choices, our actions, and our relationships are as much a reflection of our decisions as they are of our influences.
It is important, therefore that we make time and space in our lives to reflect on and celebrate the lives of those who have influenced our own.
This can be done at any time and for any reason, but it is also a good practice to set aside specific times for remembrance and celebration so that we do not become so busy with the blessings in our lives that we forget to be thankful for those who helped to make them possible.
In remembrance of my grandparents, my teacher, my friend, and my wife’s cousin.
Thank you.
To all those still with us, Happy Lunar New Year!
May it be filled with peace and blessings.
Our health is not promised to us.
It must be worked for and maintained.
This requires thought, effort, and intention.
It also requires time.
Our health is an investment that must be tended to and nurtured.
It will not take care of itself.
And, if we do not make time to take care of our health now, someone else will have to make the time to take care of our health later.
Even if, for whatever reason, we do not feel that our health is worth investing in for ourselves, it is important to understand that we are not the only ones affected by it.
Whatever burden we choose not to bear with regards to our health for ourselves will ultimately become the burden of our loved ones.
If we are unwilling to take care of ourselves for ourselves, we should at least stop to consider the longterm consequences of this decision for the people around us.
We do not want to see the people we love suffer and, likewise, the people who love us do not want to see us suffer either.
No one likes to see their loved ones suffer.
We must, therefore, if our love is true, put action behind our sentiments and do our best to be our best.
Love is not merely a feeling, after all.
Love is demonstrated through action.
Meditations on God 