Love at the Core: Theo of Golden
A couple of months ago, I read Theo of Golden by Adam Levi. I had been in a reading slump, and it had been forever since I’d read a book that I simply couldn’t put down. This book was so beautiful to me and led me to pause on numerous occasions and just… shed tears. In my book, if a novel makes me cry even once, there’s no way I can give it less than 4 stars. This book made me cry on four different occasions. Now… I am an empath, so do with that what you will.
However, Theo of Golden does an amazing job of encompassing the power that art has in our world. One of my favorite quotes from the book is:
“For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it. I'm not even sure I know fully what that means, but the older I get, the more I believe it. There must be love for the gift itself, love for the subject being depicted or the story being told, and love for the audience. Whether the art is sculpture, farming, teaching, lawmaking, medicine, music, or raising a child, if love is not in it – at the very heart of it – it might be skillful, marketable, or popular, but I doubt it is truly good. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.” - p. 119
I just adore this. I feel, especially in today’s world…with AI, fast-paced lifestyles, and the new generation of “I don’t owe anyone anything” that it can be so easy to forget how important love is in everything that we do.
Oftentimes, I get so caught up in what I am producing, the value I bring to others, and what people are thinking of me. When in reality, if at the heart of what I do, both professionally and personally, is not love… does it really matter?
I can sit here and say that I love my job. I have a passion for meeting people. For connecting. For outreach. Yes, I have goals to reach and things to answer to, but what truly drives what I do is my love for it.
I especially love the line, “Nothing is what it’s supposed to be if love is not at the core.”
We have many things in our lives that are good, things that we cherish, but it can be so easy to let the things of the world blur the love that is supposed to reside within them. And if it doesn’t, to create it.
This book perfectly outlines how important it is to remain human in all that we do. To allow our emotions to exist. To find agency and power in everything we do, regardless of what the world may say about it.
If love is at the heart of it, it is one of the most beautiful art forms you will engage with. Just one paragraph from this book made me stop and appreciate the power of love and the importance of letting my “humanness” show in everything I do.
I hope you do that too.
Oh, and maybe read Theo of Golden!