I treated myself to a Harry Potter marathon this weekend. Guilty as charged.  But, I must say that watching the HP movies (aside from reading the books a million times over) under the current social climate—brings forth a new revelation.

One would sincerely believe that J.K. Rowling is a modernized oracle who was able to warn the rest of us when we’ve become complacent in our struggle and fight for social equality, kindness, and peace for this world. Does the reference to eradicating all “mudbloods” from the wizarding world, and only maintaining a pure bloodline sound familiar to you now?

Let’s set that aside though because there is a thread of thematic significance in all of the HP books and movies.  It was quite simple, yet complicated. Peaceful, yet chaotic. Happiness, with a hint of sadness. Kindness in the light, and selfishness in the dark.  The thread that weaves between all of these elements is the strength that allows such simplicity to flourish behind the light, and beneath the darkness.

It’s Love.

It’s love even when it means having to sacrifice something meaningful. In today’s world, we are all attempting to hold on to such simplicity, yet we are struggling to remember what it means to love.

For a second, I’d like to wonder why we could easily lose focus on something that we should all know inherently, and I’ve come to a conclusion that it’s mainly due to those whose heart have become filled with hatred, or whose heart may have never known love–to love or be loved.

On a daily basis, we begin to feel that we are losing the battle of right and wrong, light and dark, facts and lies, reality and augmented reality, and so on.

Then, as I am looking off at a distance or I’ve taken a break within my own mind, there will be quotes that will grace my thoughts that resets my way of thinking.

Lately, it’s been Dumbledore. Yes, Professor Dumbledore. Sometimes Maya Angelou shows up too, but lately it’s been the Professor.

It’s the simplest quote really–and so much so that I hope it doesn’t become a cliche–but, we all know that those who are always criticizing cliches really love it underneath it all.

Professor Dumbledore said, “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”  So, I think that whenever I become tired of what is happening to our world, and how people easily feel as though they can say such hateful things (you know the very tribal rhetoric)–I think of those people, and I do pity them.  I pity them because at one point or another, they have forgotten this simple thing called love or perhaps worse, they have never known it because hatred is all they’ve ever known.

Because with love, we would have empathy for those who are suffering.

Because with love, we begin to understand the differences in our perspectives.

Because with love, we learn to have pity for those whose lives are filled with hatred.

Because with love, we can find a way to forgive.

And lastly, because with love, we can learn to navigate through the complexity of having love for those who truly need it.