Love does not ask for anything in return. It is at times a self-sacrificing gift but it is given freely. For when we give love and see the difference that one act of love can make, the feeling is priceless, indescribable. And in that one moment, we get a glimpse of the power contained in each of us, the power, not to change the world, but to change a part of the world.
Attachment is not possible without relative detachment. All personal attachments limit us, they make us dependent, they prepare our fall. The love that people claim to possess is far from true love. It is preferential love, uneven love.
True love is universal, even, the same to one and all. Jesus Christ attained that state. His love was uniform. When he was crucified, he maintained the same feeling of love and compassion for those who crucified him. The feeling of love arises from purity wherein there is no distinction, no demarcation. Purity of heart is attained when one is evolved. When we are flying in an aircraft 40 thousand feet above the ground level, hills and vales appear to be at the same level.
When we reach an elevation, all differences in the objects down below disappear. Similarly when we realize our supreme self, when we reach the pinnacle of spiritual glory, all differences and distinctions of the terrestrial world disappear.
Spiritual ignorance is the cause of all sorrow and suffering in the world. There is only one way to eradicate sorrow and establish enduring peace and happiness. This is to instill knowledge of the inner self that we are all divine beings and inter-connected. Only Spiritual practices can take us to that state of elevation as they help us to develop a purer mind and subtler intellect.
We get nearer and nearer to our inner core and attain realization of universal brotherhood. It is only through spiritual practices we come to realize that we are all the same, we are all rowing the same boat, and there are only superficial and unimportant differences amongst us, no difference that really matters.
Then only can we reach out to people with love and compassion. Because of the purity inside, we become humble and respectful. Real social service demands soul service first. What should precede social help of any kind is the basic current of oneness between giver and taker.
Only then can the social help extended work wonders for both giver and taker. In the words of Bro. If we accept the task to become enlightened beings of our planet, we can begin to change the world. Changes will occur slowly as we begin to practice acts of kindness every day. These acts do not have to be expensive or complex. They can be nothing more than a pleasant smile or assistance to someone needing help. They can be kind word, a sweet gesture, a caring action, a compassionate attitude, a shared joy or a helping hand.
Step by step, a huge transformation of our society could begin. People will feel nourished by the kind gestures of others. Fearful attitudes and defensive mind-sets would begin to melt in the warmth of kindness. Kindness and caring cannot only be reserved for our families and friends. Our spouse, our children teach us to love. Our home may be the centre but not the boundary of our affection. Having generated it in our home let the rays of our affection radiate all over.
If we could inspire everyone to perform a few acts of kindness each day we could change the world. At least a good beginning could be made and we can harbor more hope for the future.
In addition we could be role models for our children. They would learn the power and importance of being kind. She shared how we too can love as she did. She said, instead, that we need to start at home, performing one act of love at a time. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with all of the ways that I could go out and help others. Our world can be a pretty dark and depressing place with so many people hurting, so many issues to fight on, and so much that could be done.
But Mother Teresa had a different idea of how we can make the world a better place. She believed that we start with the people God put in front of us first. That means that I must start by loving my family, especially my kiddos and my husband, as best as I can.
In this, I am doing the work that God has called me to do. Mother Teresa often talked about the poverty of being uncared for, of feeling lonely and unloved.
By reaching out and doing what we can to make them feel loved and noticed, we are taking small steps in changing the world for the better. Even this can seem hard at times, though, which brings us to another famous quote by Mama T. It truly is the small things that add up to the big things. Each small action I do in love for those around me adds to the culture of love in my life and in the lives of those around me.
Each ouchie kissed, each book read, each extra snuggle adds up to the great love that they can flourish out of. The same goes for my husband. I can choose to smile at the people in the grocery store aisles. In it, Fredrickson tries to show that love for others—all others—can be consciously cultivated and applied in every sphere of life. Positive psychology has been criticized for ignoring the structural factors that underpin discrimination and inequality, and for over-emphasizing the power of individuals to shape their own horizons.
Michael Edwards: You debunk the common understanding of love as romantic attachment, and explain it instead in terms of positive emotions that our bodies can understand, experience, and develop beyond our friends and families.
But are positive emotions really the same thing as love? Barbara Fredrickson: Love is both positive emotions and larger than the self. From an emotions perspective, I like to tell people that no emotion is meant to last forever, not even the ones that feel good.
Negative emotions are essential for flourishing and creativity and resilience. One of the important empirical lessons that psychology has uncovered is that creativity is not just supported by increased positive emotions—a little bit of negativity is useful too. The key is to keep them in balance. Part of the way to stay resilient is to be able to self-generate positive emotions that can sit side by side with the negative ones, not eclipsing them but helping to make us whole.
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