Love

6-29-15

One of the most complex mysteries of the world is the perception of love. What is it, how is it created, and what does it take to sustain it. These are questions that will possibly never be answered because of the complex nature of the subject of discussion. Are all humans born with the capacity to love the people around of unquestionably? One would assume so because I've never seen a baby that wasn't full of love and joy (unless they were hungry). We enter this world a blank vessel that understands very few things. This lack of knowledge causes us to be solely dependent on the actions of the people around us. We know nothing of race, religion, or political associations. This causes us to view people as simply what they are, people. I feel that as we grow older and learn about the things of this world, and form our options about it, this is where the capacity to love unconditionally gets exponentially harder. What would it take for us to revert back to the way we were as a baby? It is as simple as wiping the slate clean and forgetting about anything that we have learned when it comes to new people being introduced into our lives. When coming into contact with someone new act as if they are the first human that you have ever interacted with, whether they be an angry customer at the restaurant that employs you, an old lady that seems like she might need some help at the grocery store, or any of the hundreds of people you happen along in your day to day life. This is important because in this country we have a problem with misconception. This tendency to have preconceived notions about people is evident in the manner in which I hear people, of this area, discuss the character of people of a different race, religious affiliation, or political stance. We tend to assume character based off what we generalize about groups of people. I personally find myself struggling with this when I meet devote Christians. So I am not excluding myself from this exercise by any means. We all have bias. We all have events in our life that have caused us to mistrust or dislike a certain group of people. These preconceived notions are what is creating the divide that we have in society and must be destroyed. Every person is their own being. Some inherently good, some inherently bad. We will never get along with every individual we come into contact with because, lets face it, there are people in this world that even Mother Theresa probably wouldn't have liked. There are individuals that have lost the capacity to look past worldly stigmas, such as color, and will never be relateable for those of us that strive to love completely. Even these people should not be ignored though. Those who have lost the ability to love completely should be provided that much more love in return. This is because if we choose to ignore or disenfranchise these people just because they shun us, we are reverting to the sick logic that these individuals follow. Only love can conquer hate and only community can conquer stigmas. This is why we all need to strive on a day to day basis to break down social barriers and enter the world like a new born baby, full of love and lacking preconceived ideas about the people that surround us.