So the reason I'm writing this time is because I'm thinking hard on this one thing: love.
Yep, you got it.
Through several things happening during the last couple of weeks, the realization just came again to me that with love, one person can overcome a remarkable amount of hardships. And the powerful love I'm talking about is the love that one person feels for everyone and everything around them, not just for family and friends (and maybe pets), but even more so for strangers.
When someone on the street says or does something mean to me for unjustifiable reasons, I used to wish I could be sarcastic enough to come up with snarky remarks to get back at them. What I usually end up doing is to just keep silence and ignore them. Just sometimes when it's too much, especially when there are other people I care about involved, I would raise my voice and fight back. But now I'm thinking, really, neither of the two options is the best way to solve problems of the kind. Silence is too passive, and fighting back will only result in a lot of negative energy on both sides. Why shouldn't I smile, take it with humor and, here it comes: love?
If everyone can do that, then there would be no shooting in Dallas as a response to police violence in the US. If everyone can do that, there would be no regular escalation in the Gaza Strip between Israeli and Palestinians. Heck, there probably would be no war anymore.
But it's not just strangers we shall show more love. The closest people to us are just equally important. I have always been the kind of person who loves people quite easily, although when I was younger, I used to be a bit more withdrawn. But I grew up in a loving family, which taught me to love it with all my heart, and that habit transferred to my relationships with friends, too. Now that I've grown up more, I'm not just waiting for people to be my friend to love them, I'm trying a different approach. I love them, so that they can become good friends of mine. And it's working out great. :D
The biggest thing I have realized for myself today actually rose from an argument with my parents. I don't want to dive into details as there is no need for that. The conclusion I'm able to draw from my reflections is what matters: the best way to solve a conflict is with love. I have mentioned it for strangers above, but it is even more meaningful in the context with people I love, at least to me, at the moment.
I have seen what damage anger can do, as an observer, as a victim, but also as the jerk who could not control herself. Even though I have mastered self-control much better than before, the righteous part of me who hates seeing injustice, especially when laid upon myself, still can't hold back sometimes. But today, I have seen again how a seemingly unsolvable argument was solved so peacefully when love is put before any other negative emotion.
I'm not saying that we should embrace and love the wrongdoings of others (don't think I can really do that), but what I'm definitely saying is that hate and anger are the wrong responses. More love, less hate - that's the only way leading to a good solution, even though the answer to the problems is not always clear with just love in the beginning. Thinking about it, this really shouldn't be an epiphany on my part. Buddha has said it, Jesus Christ has mentioned it, Ghandi has stated, "An eye for an eye, and the world goes blind", and even Dale Carnegie has taught it to everyone in his book How to Win Friends And Influence People.
I know it's always easier said than done, this philosophical deep shit. But I have to try, and I want to try it. To let love show more of itself, especially in conflict situations. :)
(A three hour train ride from Leipzig to Gießen where I had nothing else to do is responsible for this chunk of text.)
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