We put a lot of emphasis on love at the Globe.
I distinctly remember my introduction to this foundation of our group. I was a freshman, partnered with an upperclassman I had never met before. Next thing I knew, we were handed the New York Times’ “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love” and I was having a discussion with the upperclassman about my identity, my happiness, my hopes and my fears. In that moment, two souls were slowly being revealed and these souls were gaining an understanding of one another. These are the embers that lead to the light of love.
I think we don’t realize how many times this light shines in our lives. We take it for granted, just as we take the sun. Think about the sun. It’s literally the key to our existence; we revolve around it. But it rises everyday, so we don’t appreciate the star as we should.
Love is a lot like the sun. It brightens our world, warms our hearts, and life is a nearly impossible task without some form of it. And we aren’t always grateful for it; we don’t always see how often it enters our life.
That being said, we notice some kinds of love. We make lots of movies and write lots of books about this kind of love. We even search for it on the internet. And don’t get me wrong: romantic love is indeed a beautiful love. Its light is radiant and worthy of appreciation. But there are other sources of this warming luminescence.
Take for example the bond that exists between families. The care that flows between friends. A deep passion for an activity. A fascination — a connection — with a place. Care for the self. (Very different than selfishness, mind you.) The learning that occurs during mentorship — both for the mentee and the mentor. A flow of creativity; the birth of an idea. The list goes on.
We’ve tried to keep this focus on love a central part of Globe. We continue to have touching conversations, build community, and encourage love for human storytelling and observation of the world around us. And we’re taking a step to expand the realm of this philosophy of ours.
Greatly inspired by the New York Times’ “Modern Love” column, Globe is following suit and presenting a “Love, the Globe” column. Each issue from now on will feature a commentary following one writer’s story with any form of love. In a world where the news can get heavy and dark, we hope these stories will help the light of love shine a little brighter.
