Sometimes, even oftentimes, interacting with other humans fills me with joy. But here’s the thing — that joy can show up even when the human I am interacting with is one I know to be racist, sexist, homophobic, and Republican.

So where does this joy originate? Surely not from the other. It must be from within.

I’m about to turn 67, and this is the first time I’ve really understood that love can inform even a situation that is otherwise distasteful.

In the moment, I love being with this racist, sexist, homophobic person. In the moment, interacting with this person is joyful.

How can that be?