What is the most important thing you know?

Wow, what a conversation starter. How would you answer this question? I found it last week while reading: Accidental Genius by Mark Levy. It is a great book about using “freewriting” to solve business issues. I think the author’s ideas about freewriting can also be expanded into solving everyday life issues/questions. It might not work for all (especially if you are not into writing) but the idea of writing freely about product dilemmas, to what is bugging you, or how you are blocked can open the door to ideas and direction that can lead you to the answers you need. Often through writing we find a path or direction we had not thought about when we were processing the dilemma in our thoughts. Seeing it on paper can make you look at the issue differently.

I digress (sorry this tends to happen when there is always so much going on in my mind). Back to my question from his book: “What is the most important thing you know?”

It is a tough question to answer because there are so many ways it could be answered. At times when we are presented with such a big question, it can feel hard to answer because we want to make our answer sound so eloquent or well thought out. We want to sound wise, or worldly. So I am not going to think about eloquence or worldliness. My answer today is: (and not to sound cliche), that love is the most important thing. It is more important than the job we do, the amount of money we make, where we went to school, where we live…without love we have not lived.

We each have our own story to tell about love. Some stories might seemingly end with the loss of a loved one, a breakup, an ended friendship. Or they might show the depth of love through a long time marriage or partnership, through a sisterhood, a friendship since kindergarten. Some of our stories might be sad or hard to hear, but that is how we learn and grow from each other. I actually like those stories, the ones that show you have been through hell and come out of it not only in one piece, but shinier, happier, stronger, and more confident. I also love the stories that show us joy, laughter, and happiness. Both the tough stories and the joyous ones show us the ‘aliveness’ of life.