For me, October is a special month for a number of reasons. It ends with pagan new year (Samhain) on Oct. 31 and time for the cycle of the year to start anew. The weather is usually as perfect as it gets, and I love the smell of fall (although seasonal allergies usually take their toll on me as well).
Looking back on my life, October is the month I most associate with love because I've physically met all my past lovers in the month of October. And even though I'm not in a relationship now, nor am I looking to be anytime soon, I think love is something to be celebrated in all its forms, not just sexual or romantic love.
I know it sounds a little trite, but last night I finished the fifth and final season of Fringe, a TV series introduced to me by an ex before I was ready to watch it with her. It has become second only to Firefly as my favorite show of the few that I've seen every episode. It reached a zenith for me in a fourth-season episode titled,"A Short Story About Love," where the main character makes a choice to accept an involuntary change to become "a better version" of herself, one that loves and is loved by the co-star, instead of struggling to remain "herself" and without love. You have to see the show to understand that, but that's the best way I can explain it. The end of this episode is so perfect and so beautiful that I stopped watching for two weeks just to let it sink in.
Anyway, two years ago I started a project to mark October as my own month dedicated to love. I came up with an idea after reading this article in the Wall Street Journal: "Stationery's New Followers" - Aug. 25, 2011
I wanted to do something to celebrate love that didn't have anything to do with a specific person. The idea of love is bigger than one relationship between two people - love is what binds us all together and the most powerful force for good we have in the world. This is why I'm an advocate of polyamory and helping people find new ways to experience love. I sincerely believe that if there's more love in the world, it will make the other problems we have easier to handle.
Also, I wanted to do something for the sake of art, without any other purpose or agenda beyond putting something beautiful out in the world. So each October, I write a personalized love letter to anyone who requests one by sending me their physical mailing address. Everyone who gives me an address will get a letter - guaranteed - whether we've known each other a minute or a decade. Each love letter will be handwritten with liquid ink on cotton fiber paper (so as not to harm any trees) and sent via U.S. Mail - not by email, text, IM, Twitter or Facebook post. I'll even spring for international delivery for anyone overseas.
Looking back on my life, October is the month I most associate with love because I've physically met all my past lovers in the month of October. And even though I'm not in a relationship now, nor am I looking to be anytime soon, I think love is something to be celebrated in all its forms, not just sexual or romantic love.
I know it sounds a little trite, but last night I finished the fifth and final season of Fringe, a TV series introduced to me by an ex before I was ready to watch it with her. It has become second only to Firefly as my favorite show of the few that I've seen every episode. It reached a zenith for me in a fourth-season episode titled,"A Short Story About Love," where the main character makes a choice to accept an involuntary change to become "a better version" of herself, one that loves and is loved by the co-star, instead of struggling to remain "herself" and without love. You have to see the show to understand that, but that's the best way I can explain it. The end of this episode is so perfect and so beautiful that I stopped watching for two weeks just to let it sink in.
Anyway, two years ago I started a project to mark October as my own month dedicated to love. I came up with an idea after reading this article in the Wall Street Journal: "Stationery's New Followers" - Aug. 25, 2011
I wanted to do something to celebrate love that didn't have anything to do with a specific person. The idea of love is bigger than one relationship between two people - love is what binds us all together and the most powerful force for good we have in the world. This is why I'm an advocate of polyamory and helping people find new ways to experience love. I sincerely believe that if there's more love in the world, it will make the other problems we have easier to handle.
Also, I wanted to do something for the sake of art, without any other purpose or agenda beyond putting something beautiful out in the world. So each October, I write a personalized love letter to anyone who requests one by sending me their physical mailing address. Everyone who gives me an address will get a letter - guaranteed - whether we've known each other a minute or a decade. Each love letter will be handwritten with liquid ink on cotton fiber paper (so as not to harm any trees) and sent via U.S. Mail - not by email, text, IM, Twitter or Facebook post. I'll even spring for international delivery for anyone overseas.
Your letter may be long or short, funny or sincere. It might be perfumed or decorated with a wax seal. It might recall some tiny, distant memory of our time together, or it might be five pages long if we have a history. It might be lyrics to a love song that reminds me of you. It could be a story I've always wanted to share with you, but never found the right moment to tell it.
But whatever it is, it will be honest, and it will be about you and me - and whatever is between us and how it relates to the experience of love. And for those moments it takes you to read it, you and I will share a personal and physical connection that is so rare in this fleeting digital world.
No response will be expected - the letter will be my gift to you, in honor of all the love that has found me in Octobers past. All letters and requests will be kept confidential on my end, but you're certainly welcome to share the experience publicly if you wish. And obviously, requests received after Oct. 31 will have to wait until next year.
