Quote #93: Wallace “Wally” Mayton

Greetings: As a member of the Midland Area Well-Being Coalition, I welcome this opportunity to participate in its Quotes to Live By program. I am Wallace “Wally” Mayton, Honorably Retired as ordained pastor within the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A, and current Parish Associate for the Memorial Presbyterian Church in Midland.

I offer this quote. It is: “Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it,” proclaimed by Karl Menninger, MD, founder of the Menninger Clinic, “Where healing comes to mind.”

The practice of love is mutual. It is an attribute spoken and lived. It is expressed best in community, within our relationships with one another. The practice of love heals. Love is the foundation for all of our neighboring experiences. This proclamation in support of mental health reminds me that my wellbeing depends upon my acceptance of the requirement to receive love as well to give it. The understanding both to receive and to give fulfills the instruction to affirm and to celebrate neighboring love. I define love as interaction. Love invites caring, trust, and respect. The practice of love creates and sustains wellbeing in its spirit of gratitude.

We together consider how we may both express and experience gratitude in love given and received. We equip ourselves and our community to live lives governed by neighboring love. We point to those whose lives affirm us. We point to self in response to the gifts we receive.

This offering pays tribute to the Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition in its outreach through its Quotes to Live By series.