Earlier this year I caught a glimpse of a show on CNN talking about the most popular searches on Google in 2012. There was only one search which shocked me and this was probably because it was the hottest search in Nigeria. Ladies and gentlemen, most Nigerians online in 2012 where searching for how to love. What in God’s name is my country coming to if people are not sure about how to love? At first I thought, ‘Did they mean to search for how to make love? Nah, you don’t need step by step instructions for that. Besides, the 150 million inhabitants in the country confirm that we have no problems in that department. Maybe the people searching online were feeling bitter about something or maybe they’ve been told by their partners that they don’t show love. In a nutshell, I’m clueless about the origin of this Google search. But I’m going to take a stab at Cupid’s job for a minute…

1. Love yourself – You can’t love anyone if you don’t even love yourself. I don’t mean worship yourself and look in just about every mirror you come across…no. I mean you should feel good about yourself, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Imagine stepping out of your body for a minute and sitting opposite yourself. Now tell your ‘parallel self’ that against all staggering biological odds you were born. Now that you’re on earth you need to take good care of yourself; eat when you’re hungry, drink when you’re thirsty, call a friend when you’re feeling bored or lonely. Basically, know what you want and so long as it’s within reason go for it.

2. Mingle with those who love you – Family members are usually a great source of love. Chances are that you’ve known them all your life and they love you dearly. Anytime your sister kept you company, or anytime your dad offered to drive you to the airport, or anytime your mum offered to make you dinner, etc. they did these things and more because they love you. If you were brought up in a home filled with love then it’s natural that you exhibit some of these behaviours yourself and subsequently affect others outside the family unit.

3. Love your neighbour (Mark 12:31) – Whether you take this point literally or not the fact is that you’re showing love to someone other than a family member. Whenever you have an opportunity to help someone in need you’re showing love. Lending a helping hand at the office or honouring the invitations of friends getting married, showing support for a good cause/charity, sharing valuable information that could positively impact on a person’s life, promoting someone’s business, helping someone accomplish their dream, providing a listening ear and giving good advice. You can be as creative as you want. Try to show love to at least one person a day and see what a difference it makes to that person and to you 🙂