I took my two boys to the beach, and we were on our way back to the car to retrieve some sunscreen. My six year old began to run ahead of my three year old. My three year old wanted to be first, so he started crying. He was crying and running to catch up, and running and crying. All the while, my six year old was laughing hysterically and running faster to stay ahead.

Hearing him laugh at his sobbing younger brother, I was very angry. When I caught up with him, I said firmly, “Remember to be kind!” Knowing how he valued the notion of love, I said, “I know you know all about love, so remember to be loving.”

He said, “I know all about love, but I don’t know how to love. I don’t know how to act loving.”

I was touched by his sincerity, and I empathized completely. Is this not the problem we all face when we set out to be more loving?

I said, “Well… don’t laugh when someone else is crying.” It was all I could come up with right then, and perhaps it was enough, but I think the most important thing my son did was to simply want to act with love.

I suppose choosing love does not necessarily mean you know what to actually do. It means that you wish you knew.