To have a love shared is one of the greatest pleasures of life. A Mat Kearny song, figs, my church, the sunset, an Annie quote: the joy is made greater when another experiences it and finds it pleasing too.
These particular loves are little clues into the heart of who we are. If I were a candle, I'd be Modern Forestry, vanilla. I copy quotes, make lists, pen letters, and live for summer. I am a late-night reader, a lover of watermelon, grapes, and Tandem. I waterski, walk, write. I love Sandra Bullock and names.
When you love a love of mine, it is a connection, a common denominator, a chance to be known. We share a good thing, and that is the greater thing. It's like we're taking two solid recipes, piecing parts of them together, and creating a new and better meal. It's like we're reading the same book and underlining the same sentences, only to find ourselves more ourselves by being known by our loves. Or it's like me finding a quote and you finding a different quote, but they say the same thing. It is this love of certain lines that makes us realize we have found words that speak each other's language.
One of the newest signs on our quote wall speaks to my love of this dear, ordinary life. I simply want to live forever.
A couple months ago, Bauer did research on Michelangelo for a school project and shared this quote with me one afternoon. In that moment, my joy at such an idea became a greater joy because our hearts loved the same sentiment.
If life pleases us, it is a good and joyful thing. If we find people who share our loves, which is to say they love our particular draws to other people, places, things, and ideas, then we rejoice in being known. We have nothing to fear, for above all, we have a God who delights in nouns to no end: figs, books, watermelon, walks, names, sunsets, quotes, and therefore us.
“The world exists not for what it means but for what it is. The purpose of mushrooms is to be mushrooms; wine is in order to wine: Things are precious before they are contributory....To be sure, God remains the greatest good, but, for all that, the world is still good in itself. Indeed, since He does not need it, its whole reason for being must lie in its own goodness; He has no use for it; only delight.”