Somehow summary

Sure, love is a feeling. But it’s also an energy that permeates everything, from the graceful dance of a ballerina to our clumsy stumbling through everyday life. You might even say that love is a biological imperative, because when we have a love deficiency, that’s when we humans end up turning on each other.

Even in our darkest moments, though, love can be sensed, waiting to carry us safely through – like when the author’s friend Caroline picked up a wayward frog from a construction site and carried it to safer pastures. 

Love is hope, and it offers solace and sanctuary even when we resist its embrace. But make no mistake about it: we can resist love, and even be skeptical when it arrives in a very tangible form.

Lamott believes in love “with the skin on,” as she puts it – love in action, rather than just an abstract idea. This is why she takes part in a community outreach program to give goods to the unhoused population in her community. They give out purple bags filled with goods that people might actually find useful in staying healthy, like soaps, clothes, lotions, dental floss, and so forth. 

But when she’s approached unhoused people with this lavender-colored bag of love, it doesn’t always go well. She understands the skepticism. “Beware of hippies bearing gifts” is probably a wise adage to live by.

One guy in particular, he chain-smoked cigarettes while initially refusing to even look in the bag. Once he did, he just grabbed a pair of socks, said “this is all I need,” and got up and left. But another man was more receptive. He appreciated everything in the bag, from the sun-blocking hat to the pH-balanced body lotion.

You can’t control how love will be received. The important thing is to try to be of service – to be a representative of goodness in a society that can often feel devoid of warmth. Love needn’t be grand gestures or lofty ideals. It can be found in the small, everyday moments of connection and care, like a willingness to sit and listen to someone else’s story. Such tokens of love serve as reminders that we are not alone in our struggles.