Love

To paraphrase The Beatles, love is all we need. Love is a word that is easy to say, but it can be really challenging to fully live up to the promise of love. We love our families (at least most family members 😁 ). We love our friends. We love our wonderful neighbors (at least a majority of them 😉 ). We love our pets. We love our sports teams, our favorite foods, a certain pair of shoes, a TV show. The list goes on and on. This is easy stuff to love. These things bring us joy, comfort, or a sense of belonging.

But what about when love isn’t easy? Nearly every major spiritual tradition calls us to love others as we love ourselves. In Hebrew scripture, we’re told to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In Hindu writings, we’re told “do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.” In Muslim teachings, it says “do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet).” In the Christian Bible, it reads: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is the Golden Rule – treat others as you would like others to treat you. There’s also the Platinum Rule – treat others the way they want to be treated.

How do we treat strangers? How do we treat immigrants? How do we treat those whose religious or political views don’t align with ours? How do we treat those whose gender views don’t align with ours? How do we treat those whose skin color is different from ours? This is when love gets really hard, doesn’t it? But we are called – either through religion or a simple moral code – to love and treat everyone equally. This is at the core of humanity – OUR humanity. To treat each other with dignity, respect, and kindness. What a different world it would be if we all lived this way.

And love comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be as simple as holding a door open for someone. Or it can be as grandiose as helping a stranger in a desperate and dire time of need. Every loving action we perform has a positive impact on each of us and the people receiving our love. Conversely, a lack of love and empathy has the complete opposite effect.

We need more love in this world. We need less judgement. We need to eliminate our language of fear and hatred. We need to instill our language with love, compassion, and kindness. The human journey is challenging enough – let’s not layer on unnecessary burdens. Love can truly lighten the load – it won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth the effort.

Until next week.

Andy

(All written content created the old-fashioned way.)