Doubling Down on Love
In this piece from 2019, written after another act of devastating gun violence, I reflect on what bell hooks taught me about love and lovelessness.
A collection of conversations, writings, and resources all about love, belonging, and being enough.
Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough. It’s going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.
This assessment is a barometer of sorts, showing how you align in relation to the 10 Guideposts laid out in The Gifts of Imperfection—where your strengths are and, as we say in social work, where you have “opportunities for improvement.”
bell hooks is responsible for 90% of the stretch marks on my heart and my mind. This work, published in 1999, is a master class on love and lovelessness.
In this piece from 2019, written after another act of devastating gun violence, I reflect on what bell hooks taught me about love and lovelessness.
The actor’s story exemplifies the power of courage in the face of pain, vulnerability in the face of fear, and how living and loving close up leads to true belonging.
An illustrated look at the ten guideposts laid out in The Gifts of Imperfection, from Avalon McKenzie.
From The Love Prescription, Part 1 of 3; Unlocking Us; September 28, 2022.