In the Name of Love

If there's one thing all humans know from the moment we emerge from the womb, it's that Love is good. It's as clear and simple at that point in our lives as breathing. As we get older, however, the idea of Love morphs into different things for each of us. For some, Love turns into a lust for power or sex or money or electronics or religion or politics or...you get the picture. But this post isn't about your personal definition of Love. It's about the word Love. The idea of Love. 
 
When you consider how much art has been created with the idea of Love as its core concept, we can all agree that this one little word has a pretty huge impact on us. On all of us. Across cultures. 

On April 4, 2009, we conducted a test to see whether Love really could conquer all. And boy, did it. Thousands of people across social media tweeted, posted and mentioned I Love You. This blog received over 70,000 visits, and #iloveyou was a top trending topic on Twitter. More importantly, this one innocuous yet powerful act  changed people's lives - if only for a day. Don't believe it? Check the comments below. 

This year we're not conducting an experiment, we're building on momentum. On April 4, 2010  (a Sunday), we ask that you post "I Love You" in your social media circles JUST ONCE. No, we're not asking you to say you Love Social Media, or Facebook, or Twitter, your mother or even your pet iguana for that matter. And we're not asking you to endorse any religion, ethnicity, brand, holiday or any other possible reason you could conjure. We're just asking you to post "I Love You" once in one of your social media streams.  In Facebook as a status, in Twitter as a post, hell - you can even post it in Linkedin if you want (it's a Sunday, so no one is going to think any less of you for spreading such a positive message).

Why? Because with all of the shit in the world today, we need this. 

We do not seek to own this endeavor in any way. So please, take this concept and run with it. After all, you can't really copyright Love. The only profit we seek is to look into our social media stream and see hundreds or thousands of people sharing an emotion that we were all born with - and to remind each other that Love is still the most powerful force on earth.

Among thousands of others, U2 wrote a song about Love for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It just so happens that April 4 is the anniversary of Dr. King's assassination. Again, this initiative is not an endorsement of any group, ethnicity or religion. But it's a damn fine reason to spread Love on a day that's historically scarred with hate. 

Join us on April 4th by using ten little characters to help change the world. After all, there really is no downside. I Love You. 

Become a fan of I Love You Day on Facebook

Follow @ILoveYouDay on Twitter. 

Lyrics to 'Pride (In the Name of Love)' by U2

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come, he to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach.
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

(nobody like you...)

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love...

Comments

[Lindsay]

This was an inspiring post, thanks! :)

[Lisa Hickey]

Wow. Love you too. It's funny how hard it actually is to say those words, especially publicly. Even if the emotion is true and honest and real. There's such a fear that people might take the words the wrong way.

With that said, I'm in. Great idea. thanks! Lisa

[tobyct]

Considering how fast something can move around the world these days via modern communication, why not send love. If it brings a smile to the recipient, as well as the sender, then there will hopefully be a lot of smiling people on that day.

[Charlie Fern]

You're on, Jim Mitchem.

This post gave me goose bumps. I spent a few hours yesterday writing about love, myself. I'll have to post too, with your call to action.
April 4 is the day of my son's 4th birthday party. Another great coincidence.

[Teresa Schmidt]

Are you kidding me? You had me in the first paragraph, and then you go and post the lyrics to one of the greatest, most important songs about LOVE (and our usual failure at achieving it) ever. Goosebump city. Amazing photo, too. I'm in. And thank you.

[Mark Aaron Murnahan]

I Love You

[shanna]

Oh, I am so in. Love, love, love. Pure, unadulterated, delicious...

[Michael O'Neill]

I've refrained from mocking you. That's the best and most love I can give.

[Will Conley]

Good idea. I'm on it. Omnia vincit Amor.

[Laura Tejedor]

I think this is a wonderful post. Thanks and I love you too!

[Alice Wessendorf]

Totally in Jim. Going to be loving the heck out of the world of social media on that day.

[Danny Brown]

Count me in (though you may have to give me a gentle nudge to remind me - I'm getting old and senile) ;-)

Great idea!

[Jim Mitchem]

Thank you Alice Wessendorf: http://www.skyblue-pink.com/?p=570

[Jim Mitchem]

Thank you Charlie Fern: http://tinyurl.com/c9ywau

[Alice]

This is a beautiful post and great idea

[DavidJewlian]

Great idea. Can't wait.

[dcgrrl]

Your post reminds me of how overwhelming it was to hear U2 sing Sunday, Bloody Sunday the weekend before Inauguration at the Lincoln Memorial. Just a big love-fest there. Anyway, I'm with you. All my love.
H

[Chris]

Very cool. I'm in!

[Corrina]

I love you I love you - awesome idea.

[Bethe]

LOVE this post!!!!! I am all in! xo- Bethe

[rmilana]

♥♫♥♫♥ I LOVE YOU ♥♫♥♫♥

[Torley]

This refreshed me more than coffee, which I don't even drink because it gives me indigestations. I'm in. I tweeted. http://twitter.com/torley

[denise brown]

excellence! yes, i am in!

greetings & L.O.V.E. from austin, texas!
denise brown

[Marie Foote]

nicely said. we are creatures who long for love because we were created by LOVE.

[[email protected]]

Love amazed!

[inaki Escudero]

Great concept. Inspirational and relevant. Good job.

[michelle]

This is great!

I love you!!!

[michelle]

Would it be cool to post I love you in my blog???

[joshypants]

Count me in.

[Cody B]

This is a very awesome idea! Also happens to be on my birthday, which I like even more :D

[Confidence]

I fond myself at odds with these words until I questioned my reasons. It seems to me that the finer points of this article are, after all, secondary and not largely important if the overall message is to appreciate and share one's most positive outward expression of good will. in the end, I DO appreciate the many definitions of love and personally subscribe to it being wonderful.

If anyone reading this finds conflict between the words and/or any other details regarding the article... just keep in mind; taken as a means to suit the end of having a world filled with that positive meaningful outward expression of affection and joy so often and simply called "love" ...it's a good place to begin if one wishes to add their voice.

Maybe it makes a difference... :)

I love you.

[katherine]

I love you.

Speaking of... have you ever heard of the "I Love You Man" in Toronto? He wrote "I LOVE YOU" in blue spray paint 100 times around the city... for a similar purpose as this idea (which is a grand one).

Here's a link to a map of the annex in Toronto, where you can see photos of each of his I-Love-Yous:
http://iloveyougalleries.com/gallery2.htm

Thanks for doing this :)

[Tavi]

I "love" the idea of doing this, but I can't help noticing the parallel between the title of this site, "Obsessed with Conformity", and a post that asks everyone to all do a particular thing on a particular day. ;)

[me.yahoo.com/a/ZrNWEioT1JQwGh4j06.kzKunVPyexxefgOybvdjSrJs-]

I start out each morning sending Reiki to All. That is how much I love All! :)

[[email protected]]

Great idea!! :-)

http://auroraskye-skyewriting.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-love-you-i-love-you-i-love-you.html

[Shonna]

Love is magic. Love is the strongest magic there is. Love heals hearts, spirits and lifts us up above it all...thank you for the reminder...I love you, too.

[Barbarella]

Thanks for sharing this. I will tweet!

[Jim Mitchem]

You guys have officially rocked my world. I Love You.

[G]

Great! I love this idea - people don't say it enough and such words save lives! :)

[Carol]

Thank you. I Love You.

[Billy Bones]

Even we afterlifers need love.

[Dina]

This is inspiring WOW,
Love is the most wonderful place to react from :)
Thank you for being in my life
a lot of LOVE
Dina Soker
www.dinasoker.blogspot.com

[Ernie]

I love you all :)

[Scott]

This is one of the best blog posts from any site that I've read in a while. Great idea, I'm in.

[jojo]

danke for the inspiration. followed AFP's example on twitter.

http://locksmithy.livejournal.com/66420.html

[@CoachDeb]

And "I Love You" becomes #1 Trending Topic on Twitter today! w00t! I love it! oh... and I love You!

[mordicai]

...but I hate love?

[saulone]

Awesome sauce. Will tweet and FB.

[Account Deleted]

Wish I had Thought of this!

Seriously though,

Dr. King would be pleased!

ZuD

[Schwa]

Thank you very much. I love you.

[Amanda]

count me in. I love you!

[DaveMurr]

Well done my friend. I can honestly say that I love you and each and every one of my friends I have met on Twitter!

[Tess]

Thank you for this! I'm glad someone on my LJ list did it, so I found out about it in time to join in. It was lovely to realize that, no matter who you are, in some way, I love you.

[Ysabet]

Saw this on my LJ and I added my own statement of love in. It felt oddly good; made me just that small bit happier, and right now I needed it. I hope it makes somebody else happier too, and then they do the same and on and on. Thanks.

[Jo]

What a brilliant idea!

Love you all, too. :)

[Jillian]

Loved this idea. Had an emotionally, wonderful day loving all my Twitter friends. Reached soaring new heights. Thank you! Thank you!

How clever!

[Charles]

Awesome! I tweeted, FB'd, Tumblr'd, and Dugg it.... so glad to see it succeed.

I love you!

[Nichole (@napril1023)]

Jim - thank you and Staci for launching this amazing day. You helped turn what is usually a sucky day into one that I will forever remember as turning point in my life. This love initiative gave the space to try something new, to open up and share a piece of me. And most important, it gave me beautiful look at the humanity and love that exists in the simplest and grandest of forms - and from otherwise perfect strangers. For all that, I LOVE YOU.

[ludlow]

I love you. Thanks for this post.

[Shaun Trillo]

Finally, something that matters. I say "I Love You" to everyone and I don't care how anyone takes it because it only means Love in the same pure form this intends. interesting to see I'm not the only one who socially believes in this and wants to spread it.
Sadly, it's now the 5th, the 6th in half an hour, and I missed this yesterday.

[Suz']

The question is: Is an "I love you" that is being posted on the internet in a very generic way and targeting a broad range of people as strong as an "I love you" directly said to one person, or a small group of people?
That said I still like the idea. And since I missed the 4/4 window I shall just use it as a general inspiration and try to spread more love in day-to-day life.

[Eternity]

When I saw someone post "I love you" on Twitter, it made me smile from inside. Thank you. :)

[Sarah]

Hey, a friend of mine did this and I thought she was suicidal. I suppose that says something about our society, too.

[firefly67]

I'm a day late--LJ friend just posted link to this blog & I saw it just now.

I remember when MLK was murdered. I remember us young people, crying and hugging each other in the streets. Black, white, it didn't matter. We had all shared the dream and its brutal ending...JFK, RFK, MLK... all our heroes destroyed in their prime.

But today I remember the embraces and the hope we still shared on those terrible days. I remember the love. I hope it outlasts the hatred...Love may not be all we need. But it can work wonders, if we allow it the freedom it needs...

[Natasha]

I love this idea. I love this song. I love that the creative theme on my blog this week is "Love Letters." I'd love it if you partiipated. What would your love letter look like?

I love you

[melody]

ouch. really touching,,, i love the lyrics of the songs.. good and bright idea...

[melody]

u hate love????
but why???

[Rofl]

Love is complete bullshit comparable to God.

[Jeanne Veillette Bowerman]

Love has kicked my ass up and down a million mountains, but I still love with reckless abandon. It's the only way to feel alive. I've used the word meaning it with every fiber of my being, and I've used the word with no drop of truth but rather out of obligation. Love is indeed a powerful word. Indeed.

I love you.

[Mollyblock]

A year later -- one of my most challenging years ever -- Jim's post *still* inspires me. I'm acutely aware of the importance of embracing life every day, expressing love and appreciation for others, for the simple reason that we don't know what tomorrow will hold.

I love you.

[Mollyblock]

Another year has passed, and among the many things for which I'm grateful is the fact that I'm still around to say this today -- and whenever I darned well feel like saying it(!):
I love you.
:)

[Molly Block]

Love. Love. Love.
That is all.