I wish I would have known it was Library Appreciation Week before last Monday. I absolutely love the library. I revel in it and celebrate those repositories of poetry and oh so much more. Where else does the public have free access to Shakespeare, Gibran, and Whitman? Where else can we learn pretty much anything we want about such a wide range of topics? And where else do words trip so expressively across your tongue?

OK, I might be “letting my freak flag fly.” But I love to write, and I am a wordsmith who grew up on poetry and meaningful song lyrics. I am so happy to be from my era, when The Beatles were all still alive and singing, “All you need love.”  It was a great time to be alive!

That is what I still believe to be true. I’m happy to say that I’ve been loved all of my life, first with my birth family and then my sweet husband and my sweet child, and then my super sweet grandchild. That makes me feel real good. And I love them all in return. I know that I am blessed, and I really hope you all can say the same about yourself.

We all feel very fortunate about that.

Wouldn’t it be great if we were constantly aware of the love people have for us, if we knew we are the embodiment of love? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all felt loved all of the time?

Well, I am happy to tell you that you are loved all the time. Whether you call the source of that love “God,” or a universal spirit, somebody has your back. And that love will never end, and it flows through every cell of your being. You are loved all throughout your lifetime. Love is what animates and sustains you. Love is the source of your energy.

And no love is ever lost. Love lingers. By universal law, love must stay where it is placed. If it is placed in you, you cannot ever lose it, and that is reciprocal. You cannot pull out of love yourself. Once you love someone, I believe you are bound to them.

I think love is what this world is about, and what our lives are about. So here’s to “love, love, love.” Sing it now!

Marcelle Hanemann is a news reporter for The Daily News. You can email her at marcelle.hanemann@bogalusadailynews.com or call her at 985-732-2565, ext. 301.