Because of a conference I went to a few years ago I met Hilary. Because I met Hilary we are friends on Facebook. Because we are friends on Facebook I saw that she compiles an Advent playlist every year. Because I saw these lists were hosted on Spotify I converted them over to Apple music. Because I converted them to Apple music I have access to the whole album. And, because I have access to the whole album, I have discovered my new favorite band.
Life can be so fun sometimes!
The Brilliance: categorized as Christian/Gospel. They speak my language when it comes to God, the earth, humanity and love. I have discovered two albums so far and I love them both. You should check them out!
The album All is Not Lost is connected so beautifully. From the opening song, “Oh Earth” moving seamlessly into “Gravity of Love” followed by “Night Has Passed / Morning Has Broken” and then… “See the Love.” If you have access to a music streaming service I urge you to listen to these four songs in order.
“See the Love” is what I want to focus on though. I’ve listened to it several times turned up pretty loud in my car on the way to work. However, something was different on Friday.
Every day
We go to war again
We assume
We know so much more than them
Before we hear what they have to say
Headline breaks
And we start to hate again
Callin’ them names again
We give our peace away
Every day. I’ve had to stop listening to the news recap in the morning because it’s just too much. Every day there’s a something new that breaks my heart. My heart can only take so much these days. It hurts to see so many people hurting and the only way they can think to solve the problem is by hurting someone else. Surely there’s another way…
I hope they see it
‘Cause I wanna see it
I hope we believe itI wanna see
I wanna see the love
All around you
All around you
I wanna know
I wanna know that love
Is all around you
It’s all around
On Friday, as I was sitting in traffic watching all these cars full of people trying to get somewhere, trying to make a living, trying to live a life, I got overwhelmed. Instead of thinking about individuals my mind went to something bigger. As I sang “I wanna see / I wanna see the love / All around you”, I saw the earth floating in space and imagined love surrounding it. I don’t want love for me or my friends or my family, I want it for all of us. For the entire world. And not just humanity, but all of creation. I wanna see the love all around you.
See how it lights you up
It lights you up
See how it lights you up
It lights you up
See how it lights you up
It lights you up
And not just the earth but all the Universe. See how the sun lights up the moon. See how the moon lights up our nights. See how the sun lights up our days. See how the love lights us up. Each and everyone of us. No one is left out. The moon and the sun shine on all of us. Love shines on all of us. All.of.us.
“See how it lights you up” I sang with tears in my eyes. How many people are aware of how much they are loved? I suspect not enough, because if more people knew how much they are really loved, they would respond to the world, to each other, differently. Imagining the earth surrounded by light and love – I couldn’t help but cry, both out of joy and sorrow.
I wanna see
I wanna see the love
All around you
All around you
I wanna know
I wanna know that love
Is all around you
It’s all around
It doesn’t take much light to brighten a dark room. Small amounts of love go far too.
I see the love all around me – a hug from my husband, a text from my friend, quiet moments with my dog, laughter with my nieces and nephews, conversations with my brothers, life from my parents, memories of my grandparents, snow fall on a Saturday morning, hand quilted quilt keeping me warm, friends gathered around the table. I see it. When my eyes are open, I can’t escape from it.
I hope you see it too.
peace.
Anne Brock 