Murder

"Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate."

from Dhammapada, Teachings of the Buddha.

In a world of Facebook pages and Web-page animations with snappy adman lines, these words can be read like a bumper sticker. Cynicism, covered by apparent inanity, is a trend of the times.

Whenever I read these words, as I do intentionally and regularly, I am encouraged. I realize that my life, as a gay man, as an AIDS survivor and as a cancer survivor, has grown hopeful and creative by living these words. Love has healed hate, rejection and fear of death.

Living in love does not mean living without anger or hurt or frustration. Living in love entails shaping and working these natural feelings into a force for positive motivation and change in my own life. Love is not a sappy pop tune. Love is a force. It is stoked with the fires of all passion. If combined with mindfulness and compassion, love can change my environment by changing my function within it.