Knowing People.

On CJ's birthday, we went out for lunch at this little Italian place that reminded me of HUF. While we were out that afternoon, CJ asked me a question that I just haven't been able to get out of my head. "What do you want out of life?" I'm not sure I know what that means. I could give a list of things I want to do in life, experiences I want to have, but this question seems more loaded than that, like it should be based off of something like purpose and truth. I mumbled off an answer that I'm not even sure made much sense, saying that I wanted to "know people." What I meant by that was that I want to know people intimately, but it goes back farther than that. Now, no huge philosophical commentary told me this, but what I've kind of observed on my own is that our purpose on this earth is to learn how to love. It sounds so cliche, but that's only because I don't know how to say it more profoundly. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord, and the second is to love others. We want to become like God, and God IS love. The saying is simple: Love God. Love People. The meaning and the application are complex. Is it wrong to try to summarize our life's purpose into four words? I think that it might be. Christianity (as much as I hate the negative connotation of that word) was meant to be anything but simple. Who am I to reduce the most complex being in this universe into a few simple words, but simple is the only place that I can learn from right now, so I work with what I've got. I've deviated from my point, however, and that is that the first step to loving someone seems to be to know them. I want to know people in my life deeply and intimately. I want to know their dreams, hopes, and ambitions. I want to pour into their lives more than for my own personal enjoyment and entertainment. I want to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend, a good wife, and a good mother. I want to live a full life with a cup that cannot help but overflow into the lives of others. Is that what I want out of life? I guess for now that answer will do.