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11月27日 Understanding, Not LoveWhen one first looks into new age thought and paganism, they will often find themselves bombarded with the concept of needing to love and care for everything. It's a nice idea, but not a practical one, especially since we all have unsavory people in our lives.
So often people drift away from the path as they think it has an unreal, unattainable expectation (and to avoid feeling bad about not being able to love all and sundry unconditionally). The thing is that it's perfectly attainable....if we understand what it really means.
Language is great and all for expressing ideas, but it's also limiting. This is were problems occur. People often use the word "love" when what they mean is something else entirely, since they don't' know how to express that something else.
So now, I'm going to give it a try. Love is a chosen state of being. It can be reciprocal or not. It can have many levels and be applied to many things. But every time there is a certain connotation attached. That being Adoration, Caring and a certian amount of Reverence. But if you don't' feel these things towards an object or person, it can't be love, right? Thus we have the stumbling block. After all, who in their right mind would adore a pedophile or murderer?
Let try this then. Replace "love" with "understanding". Where "love" carries a connotation of care and gentleness, "understanding" does not. It just denotes an awareness, and that awareness is neither good nor bad, it just is.
Understanding as no expectations of being nice, or of not judging. Understanding does not equal approval, or disapproval for that matter. I can understand the psychological workings of a pedophile, but that doest' mean I'm going to allow my kids around that person. Conversely, I can understand the infectious nature of AIDS and take the appropriate cautions, rather then over reacting and showing up in a bi-hazard suit.
Understating goes hand in hand with discernment. When understanding is had, one can make wise, educated choices, even if that's the choice to do nothing. It's when there is a lack of understanding (not love) that things break down badly. People operating according to their preconceived notions is just a disaster waiting to happen.
So save your feelings of "love" for those that are worthy of them, and work instead on understanding the world as a whole, as well as it's individual parts.
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