A philosophy close to the heart, shared ~ Facets

A life philosophy in three lights: Love, Hope & Beauty.

Faith McCord’s philosophy, shaped by experience and softened by time, lives here — not as doctrine, but as a reflection. These are the values she hopes to leave behind, as part of a gentle legacy for a future soul to discover.

This is not a philosophy of grand gestures or rigid rules, but of daily choices, enduring care, and the pursuit of small, meaningful truths.

LOVE

There is too much pain in the world — and much of it is preventable.

Emotional pain flows through individuals, through families, through generations — often passed down silently in our bodies and minds. It can twist its way into decisions made on the global stage: wars, systems, cruelty justified as necessity. Pain multiplied when people in power ignore the humanity of others.

But love, in its many forms, can interrupt this chain. Love that is not just romantic, but patient, everyday, sustaining: Love for our children, parents, siblings, friends, animals, even strangers. Love that honours boundaries and still says: I see you. Love that feeds the soul and protects what matters.

Let us talk more about that kind of love — the fierce, kind, ordinary sort that mends the broken threads of life.

HOPE

Hope is what makes us rise again. Not naive optimism — but the steady belief that change is possible, that healing is real, and that we are not alone.

Hope means giving support with care, not martyrdom. Because if we spend ourselves into dust, what strength remains for those who rely on us? Women especially must be allowed to rest, to be held, to matter.

When individuals feel seen and nourished, their communities grow stronger. And from those communities, healthier societies form. It’s not complicated. It’s the ripple effect of kindness, fairness, shared humanity.

BEAUTY

Beauty is essential. It may not pay bills, but it pays the soul. It is the golden thread that helps us bear hardship — the thing that lifts, heals, connects.

You’ll find beauty in a bird’s song at dusk. In the flash of colour in a beetle’s wing. In the curve of old handwriting on a forgotten postcard. In the design on your mug. In your dog’s sleepy sigh as he nestles into your lap.

To live without noticing beauty is not to be realistic — it is to give up.

Even the gemstones — born from earth’s deepest places — speak to us of wonderment. Cut and shaped by human hands, yes, but formed in ancient darkness. Secret treasures. How astonishing it is that such things exist.

Let us not become beige, dulled by repetition. Let us stay curious, grateful. Let our hearts remain tuned to the tiny miracles.

To live well is not to escape pain.
It is to love, hope, and keep the wonderment anyway.

This, perhaps, is the heart of The House of Gemma.

— Faith McCord

Forthcoming, the accompanying short story collection by Faith McCord.