Turil has a blog that I sometimes comment on, just as she sometimes comments on my blog. A little while ago she wrote a post entitled 'Why do you deserve to be loved?' She raises a lot of good points in this post: the fact that many people grow up without understanding that they deserve love and the fact that many who are bullied about their sexuality commit suicide, feeling that they are unlovable. She asked readers to respond to why we deserved to be loved.
My response was (and she asked me to clarify it) was that being loved was our birthright, that we deserve love simply for being human. For me real love is unconditional--we don't 'deserve' it any more than we 'deserve' food or air.
This isn't to say that we always get unconditional love. Unfortunately many parents, who themselves have never gotten unconditional love, put a price on their affection ('I will love you as long as you... ') or, worse yet, give the message to their children that they are unlovable.
But love is not about conditions. Love is not about being good or bad or being any particular way. Love is, as someone said, like the sun, it shines on everyone.
Love is at the core of most religions. According to one source I found on line, it says to 'love your neighbor' eight times in the bible. My favorite is where Jesus say to "love your neighbor as yourself" which, I think, clearly implies that we must love ourselves. Jesus even says to love our enemies. And the Dalai Lama claimed, "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Love, kindness, and compassion are what real spirituality is about.
This is a blog about social change, and I believe that love is also at the heart of real social change. Che Guevara put it, "At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love." Love is what changes the world.
It is simple, as far as I'm concerned. Everyone needs love and everyone deserves love.
Quote of the Day: "Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life... Love needs no protection; it is its own protection. So long as love begets life no child is deserted, or hungry, or famished for the want of affection." - Emma Goldman
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2 comments:
I believe that the reason you, and all other life deserves to be loved is because when you are loved - and by that I mean being supported in getting the food, water, air, warmth, light, and freedom you need, to grow healthfully - you will be able to be your BEST possible self. And the world very much needs us ALL to be our best, so that we can all work together to find ways to meet the challenges that face our planet in the future.
Also, when you are truly loved in the healthiest way, you learn how to truly love, in the healthiest way, so that you can pass on that most beautiful ability to others.
I love the way you put that: "...the world very much needs us ALL to be our best, so that we can all work together to find ways to meet the challenges that face our planet in the future." So true!
Thanks for your comment--as well as your original post that inspired this one.
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