Love
Thy Neighbor
As Thyself
by Marie T. Russell
Guess what? I've taken up walking.
What a wonderful experience! I discover places where the
greenness of Mother Earth abounds... in parks and lovely
wooded areas. I treat my body to an early morning walk
on grassy areas really connecting to the earth.
These morning walks have become my morning meditation
(minus the Walkman, thank you!). I find these quiet
moments to be the perfect time to tune in to myself, pay
attention to my mental chatter, and commune with my
Higher Self.
As I was walking the other day, I
reflected on the Biblical statement, "Love thy
neighbor as thyself", and how it related to our 'New
Age' focus towards self-love. Part of my Christian
upbringing included the teaching that one should put
others first and that loving yourself was selfish. Yet,
what came clearly to me was that loving yourself is a
prerequisite to 'Loving Thy Neighbor'.
Maybe that is the problem with the
world. Everyone is treating their neighbors (whether
individuals or countries) the same way they treat
themselves. In other words, if you criticize yourself,
pollute your body, and don't take time to respect your
own needs then your neighbor is in for a rough time.
Especially when you begin to treat (or love) them the
way you treat yourself.
As the song goes, "What the world
needs now is love, sweet love..." Yet how can we share
love with others when we don't know what love is in
the first place? We must start by accepting and loving
our life situations and see the blessings everywhere. If
we constantly belittle ourselves, criticize our home or
work environment, or feel that we're not living up to
our expectations, where is the love? To love ourselves
fully, we must accept our 'imperfections', our
fears, failures, insecurities, as well as the parts of
which we approve.
Love is definitely the solution to
all of our ailments and to the world's problems.
Simplistic maybe, but true. If we all truly loved and
respected other human beings, how could there be wars?
How could there be rapes, murders, and other forms of
violence?
What do we need to do to create
harmony with our neighbors? Accept yourself, accept
others. Love yourself, love others. If we judge
ourselves harshly, it goes without saying that we will
tend to judge others with the same yardstick. Once we
can accept and love ourselves unconditionally, it
becomes easier to love and accept others. If we become
'full of love' for ourselves, then we will also
start loving our fellow human beings.
Love yourself unconditionally and let
that unconditionality extend to those around you. After
all, we are all 'in the same boat'. We all have 'stuff'
we have carried around... fears, insecurities, beliefs,
etc. This does not mean that we do not constantly strive
to re-become our Divine Selves. Yet, in that striving
must be love for the confused children we have been, and
still are at times.
It is time to lift the veil. Start by
seeing everyone around you as children who have been
confused and blinded who have yet to see their inner
Light. Love them for who they are inside, and shine your
Love and acceptance to them so they feel ready and
worthy to partake in the wonderful ceremony of life on
earth. Invite them to partake in the Love, Light,
Harmony, and Bliss that is here for all. We are all
souls that have wandered in the desert for years not
knowing that the deep abundant well of Love and the
support of the Universe was always there waiting for us.
The first step to reclaiming our
Divinity is Love. Yet as with everything else, love must
begin at home within us. We must love and accept
ourselves completely as we are now, knowing that we are
constantly evolving and changing. Even as we desire 'perfection'
seeking to rediscover and express our angelic nature
we can accept our 'human self'. Then we can
begin to live our divinity and love everything and
everyone, seeing within them the Divine Life Force that
we all are.
"What the world needs now is
Love... No not just for some, but for everyone..."including
yourself and your neighbors all over the planet.
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