Love Does Not Seek Its Own Interests

There is a rhyme that occurs between singing musical notes and writing treasuring notes.

Sit down at a piano and play the scale.

Start at middle C. Do. Re. Me. Fa. So. La. Ti. Do.

Then, go back from high C, down again to middle C:

Do. Ti. La. So. Fa. Mi.

Mi. Mi. Mi………..

The piano key is stuck on “mi.” You can’t get past that note. As hard as you try, the piano has taken over.

It’s gone amok! “Mi mi mi mi mi……”

That’s all the piano plays.

Finally, you shut the cover, and that bothersome “mi” note stops.

What a relief!

Until you start to sing, that is.

Singing Solo – Mi, Mi, Mi…..

You may hear a singer warming up by vocalizing the scales. Up and down the scale, forward from low “do” to high “do” – do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. And backward, until the singer’s voice gets stuck – like the piano

– on mi.

When a written treasuring note focuses on the writer and his or her needs, experiences, events, and feelings, the focus is on me, me, me.

That note is not about the recipient; it’s about the writer.

Write a treasuring note about just yourself, and guess what – it’s three-point time for the wastebasket.

Love Does Not Seek Its Own Interests

Seeking one’s own interests is a sign of “me first – only me.”

Synonyms mean being selfish, self-concerned, self-infatuated, self-absorbed, self-centered, self-seeking, self-serving, and self-obsessed.

Notice any similarities?

The emphasis on the word “self.”

Words meaning the opposite include generous, altruistic, benevolent, humanitarian, other-directed, self-sacrificing, unselfish, selfless, sympathetic, and empathic.

A valuable treasuring note offers a message of hope, encouragement, and inspiration – about the one who receives that note.

Uplifting words from that message touch the reader’s heart and emotions with positive images.

Those positive images lift up the spirit and offer a vision of something better, hope of healing, strength, and well-being.

Practicing a New Scale – You, You, You

Ask yourself, who is the treasuring note really for?

You or “you?”

If it is You, that is “yourself,” you are singing on a “mi, mi, mi” note.

If it is for “you,” your loved one, you are writing a “You, You, You” note.

You are writing about your loved one. The statements about your spouse start with “You.”

Write three “You” statements that offer value to your loved one. How do you do that?

Each of the three sentences begins with “You are…” “You mean…” and “You can…”

For example, here are three sentences that could be in a note to a woman undergoing chemotherapy.

“Dear Helen,

You are so brave to focus on making it through the chemotherapy sessions. You mean a lot to all of us. You can make it because you are healthy inside.  I love you, Sis!  Marcia”

Or consider three sentences about learning remotely and not in-person because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Johnnie,

You are resilient and resourceful to use the computer to attend learning sessions and gather the knowledge about your history class. It might seem challenging, but you can learn this material because I’ve seen you learn to play the Xbox, and you are fantastic in your ability to stick to it. Your persistence means a lot to Dad and me. You are building a foundation of understanding of how human history works, just like you are learning how history is made through this time of the pandemic.  We love you! Mom and Dad.

Love does seek the well-being and interests of others.

Love that is true rhymes with the word “you.”

Click on the underlined text to go on to read about the next attribute of love, “Love is Not Quick Tempered.”