The easy thing to do right now is pick a side. To let darkness get me all stirred up, convince me I know who’s right, put up my dukes and deny the humanity of the wrongdoer. But isn’t this line of thinking what leads to all bloodshed?

I’ve done too much wrong myself to be playing this game. How can I make these kind of judgments without weighing my own actions on the same scales?

I am trying to live a different way. One where, even if I find it difficult, I don’t just love my neighbors, I love my enemies, too.

Love is the ultimate revolutionary act — a beautiful paradox. Though it always protects, it does not dishonor others. Though it keeps no record of wrong, it also doesn’t delight in evil. Though it delights in truth, it is also slow to anger. Love is not the feeling TV, movies, or romance novels are selling. That’s just passion, and passion doesn’t last.

Genuine love is not an emotion, it’s an action — maybe the most challenging, difficult action of all. When I see the divisions all around me, I am reminded of the Kintsugi pottery my mother made when I was a boy. The shattered pieces of clay became a new creation held together with silver and gold. What was broken was now healed and made all the more beautiful and valuable.

Love runs against the grain of reason, but it’s worth the splinters. So I refuse to take the easy path. I won’t look away from the darkness, but I also won’t let it snuff out the only element I believe will outlast all the pain, all the suffering, and every conflict our world will ever face. And honestly, what are we even fighting for if love is an acceptable casualty?

— Daniel Younger