Conspiracy of Love

—“Conspiracy, lovely word of forgotten origins. Conspire, inspire-with, breathe with someone, together. Conspirators: they breathe the same air. Jesus and his disciples, eating the bread and drinking the wine, breathed the same air.” — Rubem Alves

Funny how the word conspiracy has taken on the negative connotation it has, isn't it? The thing about conspirators is that they're in it (whatever it is) together. Committed. The Lord has been speaking much to me lately of community - and my need of it. We do need to breath with someone together. To breath the same air.

Wendell Berry might call this kind of community the "room of love." It seems to me that the room of love can be shared by husband and wife, brothers & sisters, parents, friends, and certainly one's children. Berry says the room of love contains the longing of all things to be together and to be at rest together. Here, he says, giving and taking are the same. TO BE CONTINUED.