Today's song is, Since I Fell For You, by Lenny Welch, released in 1963.

To love another is a powerful feeling. Sometimes that love is returned and sometimes not. There are no guarantees in life except the ones you offer unconditionally. When you love, love unconditionally. Stretch as far as you can with your love and you may discover that nothing is beyond reach. -- dwlarson

The paragraph above is inspired by the latest book (shown below) I just finished reading from my friend, Bob Katzman. This is the third book in his series about his life. In this book, Bob talks a lot about the people that influenced his life. He talks about his business successes and failures. You may hear more about him on my Digital Passages Podcast interview from last December.

On page 264 of his book, he wrote the following eulogy about someone special in his life and granted me written permission to republish it here.

There's the most obvious physical beauty where a woman is so incredibly and compellingly assembled, it's like she's been kissed by God...

There's the beauty of seeing two people grow old, together, who've been joined by a lifetime of love, pain, victory, loss and a forged determination to care for each other while either still has a breath left in them...

There is the beauty of friendship, real friendship, when a person feels the world closing in on them...and they are lost...and they reach for a phone and call to hear a voice they need...to have something to hold onto...to know they're being really listened to by a kindred soul who isn't charging them by the hour to hear their anguish...someone who will stop whatever they are doing to make a space in their heart for their friend to find some refuge...

There's hearing an unforgettable aria; seeing a movie or a play that is so fresh and real and moving; getting lost in a book that can transport you across oceans or universes by the clarity and originality of the author's thoughts, captured on paper...and then rushing to share the experience with another someone that they care for, so that they can share the wonder of art together, unselfishly, because it matters that the other person might be as enthralled as the person who felt or saw it first, and the other person is worth giving them the chance to discover that same exquisite, creative beauty...

There's being conscious of the planet, wanting all that is good to stay that way after one is gone, so others can see the same unmarred marvels of nature: oceans of trees, canyons, waterfalls, shimmering wetlands filled with myriad's of birds, rushing, raging rivers, quiet meadows, clear skies, pristine coastlands, delicious water, herds of buffalo running free...and spending part of one's time, money, and energy to keep things that way....

Then there's that rare someone, who thinks beyond their own mortality, about some other person that they'll never know, never meet. Someone who thinks, like the childhood prayer: If I should die before I wake...maybe my heart will give more life to another who needs a new one, maybe my eyes will let someone see what they've never seen, maybe my kidneys may free someone whose own have failed, and they can escape from the prison of dialysis, and on, and on, leaving behind gifts whose value cannot be measured in gold...

by Robert M. Katzman © 2006

It is apparent to me that Bob respects the feelings of others and doesn't mind expressing his in public. He writes books and provides storytelling sessions originating from his gut and delivered through his big heart. Buy his books and learn about him. He's a great guy!

I've offered and received love from afar. I believe all love sent to me has always been received. There have been times when I sent love out to someone and it was returned to sender, next day delivery. It wasn't the end of the story...

President Roosevelt gave a speech in 1941 known as the Four Freedoms speech. Norman Rockwell later was inspired by that speech and made paintings of that theme for the Saturday Evening Post in 1943.

I would add that there are Five Freedoms, including the Freedom To Love that every human is entitled to have as part of their life. Earlier this afternoon, I called a long-time friend who just turned 95 years old. At the end of the conversation, I told him that Sherry and I love him. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but that's not too far to convey to him how we feel.

Even if your tendered love is initially rejected or ignored, be respectful and persistent, because one day that love might be returned.

Updated: March 12, 2007

I created my GarageBand song, Love Beyond Reach inspired by this topic.

Don