A Better Lens
I used to imagine that most other people were settled, steady, and really knew what they were about. That others are part of the in-group, are emotionally comfortable, and see themselves as capable and assured.
Whereas I often saw myself as an outsider, drifting, unsure, grasping.
But over time, over the years, something shifted.
Now I think about people differently. I don’t think insider versus outsider. No longer do I think in terms of those who have figured things out compared to those who are still searching. Or confident and assured versus wavering and uncertain.
The entire framework has changed. It’s now all about love.
I think: you need love—to be loved, to know you are loved, and to love others.
(And me too.)
So now when I enter into communities and spaces, regardless of how different or new or unfamiliar, regardless of background or situation or station, this is my guiding aim: to love others as fully as possible. And to see others first as people driven by the need for love—by its presence or its absence.
The lack of love can drive people in terrible directions. The presence of love can deliver us from certain death.
I have the ability, as do you, to love others in every encounter and interaction.
And so I expect it, I look for it, and I find it.
Write on