All We Need Is Love
By Allison Allgier, Epsilon Omega (Eastern Kentucky U), Rituals, Traditions and Jewelry Committee Chair
Our four Founders provided strong foundational values for our organization that are as relevant today as when they first wrote our AOII Rituals 127 years ago. Past International President, Muriel McKinney stated in 1948, “Our Founders had great vision. Our ritual is a guide and a moral force. Our motto sets our goals and is an inspiration, but only in so far as each one of us makes this a part of our daily living.” What does it look like to live AOII’s ritual every day? With that as my focus, I must ask myself if I bog down my life with trivia and endless distractions or unknowingly spread angst and discord. Do my conversations and social media posts reflect the love I want to see in the world and the gratitude I have for its many gifts?
Love is often thought of as a noun, but I want to encourage us all to think of it as a verb. Self-sacrificing love is seen through actions. As our Founders envisioned, are we bringing light into the world as we serve those around us? The answer for many AOIIs is “YES!” as recently noted by someone with many AOII connections. When asked to think about common characteristics among all the AOIIs he knows, he said, “I see leadership, good people, people willing to work, volunteer, people with purpose who are going out of their way to make things better.” He provided such a strong testament to AOIIs living our values and I think our Founders would be very proud.
In her 1945 Founders’ Day Message, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman wrote, “Someone said ‘we are under no compulsion to like everyone, but we should love them’. Loving them does not mean adopting a pleasant or kindly attitude towards others and letting it go at that. It connotes a determination to deal justly with all men, a will to understand them as we wish to be understood, and a sincere desire that all on earth may share the things we most prize for ourselves. To this end we must work or what we think are our ideals will truly be an illusion.”
Will we live in carefully crafted illusions that protect us from the world, or will we have courage to interact with others even if they are different, think differently? We live in a diverse world and our current culture can be divisive. Love brings unity and often brings people together. Love in action doesn’t have to be large, grand gestures. It can just be about kindness and thinking daily – What good can I do today? Can I brighten someone’s day? Am I making space for doing good and making others feel loved and respected?
What does living our ritual every day mean to you? How can you incorporate AOII’s values in your daily life? I want to challenge each of you to show love in action, to know that you can individually make a significant impact, and that collectively, we can accomplish anything.
If the Beatles were correct, “All we need is love”!
You may contact the Rituals, Traditions, and Jewelry Committee (RT&J) about anything Ritual-related at RT&J@alphaomicronpi.org