Love Is…
by Chanté Griffin
Lately, as I’ve watched the news & scrolled through the vitriol on social media, I’ve been reminded that the greatest commandment is to love. Love your neighbor, love yourself, love your enemies, love God. If you’re enraged by the news and all that’s happening in the world, I invite you to meditate on love and practice it whenever you can.
An Excerpt & a Prayer
from Loving Your Black Neighbor as Yourself: A Guide to Closing the Space Between Us (WaterBrook/Penguin Random House).
Love is…
the wrapping of oneself around another. it’s handling someone with gloves to ensure they are well taken care of.
love is gentle and soft like a newborn’s tummy. love knows that the other is fragile, that it must handle with care. it makes concessions for the other, which makes love subject, even submissive, to the other. love doesn’t mind though.
love doesn’t try to control, love releases the other, releases the other with no expectation. love is the ultimate angel investor: it invests with no expectation of ownership.
love is the needed space and the grace we give to another when they push us away.
love covers another when their nakedness is exposed. love brings figs and blankets and builds a warm fire.
love never fails.
Prayer Pause
Whom do you need to show love to? Think of that person and…
Take a deep breath, in and out, allowing any tension to leave your body. Then pray this breath prayer. Breath prayers promote calm and can help your physical body connect with your spirit. As you inhale and exhale, pray the words silently.
Breathe in:
Spirit of Love, loving (insert their name) is hard.
Breathe out:
Give me the strength and desire to love.
Breathe in:
Help me to see them the way you do.
Breathe out:
Help me to love them the way you do.
about the Author
Chanté Griffin
Chanté Griffin is a literary artist (journalist + author) and performing artist (actor + TV personality) who uses the arts and media to advocate for equity and wellness for all — particularly Black Americans. Her work centers on the intersection of racial equity and spiritual and communal wellness.
She is the author of Loving Your Black Neighbor as Yourself: A Guide to Closing the Space Between Us (WaterBrook/Penguin Random House). Contributing writer for The Washington Post, Faithfully Magazine, and LA Parent Magazine. Her work has appeared in EBONY, The Huffington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, and more.
Chanté also coaches creatives through Spirit & Scribe, an online workshop at the intersection of writing craft and spiritual formation.
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