Today is Love. I’m not sure why, but my belief in the power of Love verges on the mystical. Clearly, murdering a rival is a pretty sure path to a win. Violence, nature red in tooth and claw, rules the word of predator and prey. But unlike we humans, hate is rarely paired with violence in this carnivore dynamic. I have seen footage of lions walking calmly through a herd of unfazed gazelles who are clearly aware that, following the kill of one of the slower of the herd, the lion is sated and lazily returning to his pride, no longer a threat. He did not kill their cousin out of hate, but hunger. They’ve seen countless of their cousins, most often the weakest, fed by fate to one or the other of their many toothed and clawed neighbors. They know the game and the rules, and once played, they hold no grudge.
For our apely ancestors, with their clans, complex coordination and tools, even the biggest, strongest and most aggressive individual would be no match for the cooperative defense of even a very small group of their opponents. Clearly, the bonds of love between that little cohort would improve their commitment to defend their fellows, Just as a mothers love can turn her into a savage beast in defense of her children, this same bond between us can afford the same ferocious defense of any object of our love.
HOLLY DAYS 