My explanation.

Why "daring love" you ask? I love the idea that "Life is a daring and bold adventure or nothing at all" - thank you Eleanor Roosevelt and Jerome. And I understand that. Daring + Bold + Life = Good. But add love into the mix and I'm thrown for a loop. We all want love and we should all give love but do we even really know what it means to love or be loved fully? Do we know how to accept it when it's offered and do we even recognize it when it's available? And even more, what do we do with it when we get it?

I've always loved the idea of love. But simultaneously, I think I've been terrified to fully allow myself to have or hold onto it, with few exceptions - my family, my First Love in college, Best Friend and the more recent Incomprehensible Mystery.* I feel like a lover and I want to be known as a lover, but I'm not entirely sure I can do that unless I really grab hold of love in its fullness. I want to know and give and feel that kind of love from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I want to revel in it, wallow in it, and bask in it. But if I'm honest, I'm terrified of it. I want to be known and loved, but am also scared to fully be known and loved. What if I fail? What if I hurt someone or worse, lose it? It's easier not to try, right? The answer must unequivocally be "NO!" But why is it so hard?

All of us are surrounded by people day in and day out that are longing for love, aching for it. I want to love them in a daring way! I want to love them bold and hard and full. I want to love the poor and oppressed, the corrupt and the scandalous. I want to love the unlovable and the forgotten and to do this, I'm going to have to be daring. There's no way around it. If I'm going to be fully loved by people, it's going to take some daring there's no doubt. If I'm going to even presume to understand the sacrifice of love that was made for me, I'm going to have to be daring in my faith. Daring love. I want it. I need it. I want to give it and live it. Perhaps what Eleanor meant was "Love is a daring and bold adventure or nothing at all."

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent or guilty, as the case may be.