I stopped believing in love, and started loving instead.
Beliefs and opinions turn me away from loving. The more I believe, the more I imagine, project, concoct, make up. This removes me from the concrete experience of loving.
The more I express and formulate opinions about this or that, the more schismatic I become. I miss concrete nuances, human detail, the specifics of the individuals. That also turns me away from loving – and towards a mimicry of love instead, a love for abstractions or caricatures.
“Love is not loving.” David Bowie sings in Soul Love.
That’s true.
And clown is not clowning.
Improvisation is not improvising.
Theatre is not acting.
Acting is theatre.
Improvising is improvisation.
Clowning is playing with what you’re doing.
Loving is love.
And that’s all there is to say about that. Almost.
Don’t let your beliefs and opinions get the better of you. Set them aside and see what’s there, who’s there, in your world.
Concretely speaking.
The real world that surrounds you. The people.
“You don’t know what love is,” John Coltrane plays.
True.
I don’t have to.