Love can change the world. Not the romantic, head-over-heels kind of love, but selfless love. Selfless love is giving of yourself, your time, and your resources for the benefit of others. It is caring about others’ quality of life and helping those in need. Changing the world will not happen by introducing people to a formula or giving them ten steps to make their lives better, but by showing them love.
This kind of love starts with having compassion. When we live selfishly we have no concern for anyone else. All we care about is pleasing ourselves, and people around us often get hurt. Eventually we start using people and stepping on their toes because it makes us feel better or it advances us in our career or our popularity. We see no problem with using others because it benefits us and we do not even think about how they might feel. We do not care about those who suffer, those who starve to death, or the people who are dying because they cannot go see a doctor. We do not think about others because we are too consumed with our own lives, because we have no love for anyone but us.
What are the results of being so self-centered? America is the most successful country in the world, yet people suffer from depression, pain, and false relationships. People are confused because they can have anything and everything they ever wanted. They work their whole lives to please themselves, but they cannot figure out why that does not satisfy them. People are still left empty and looking for something else.
We rarely stop to consider what we could do to make our world a better place. If we tried, we might just be blessed beyond imagination, and those who suffer would be taken care of. We have to take our eyes off ourselves to see the needs of others and to allow ourselves to feel compassion for them. We must have love. When we love, we will want to reach out to others, build relationships, and make a difference in the world around us. Love can move mountains. It can shake the foundation on which people live. Love can work miracles in the hearts of those who receive it, and we have the power to give it.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
It's out of love that I tell you this article was way, way too sugary and didn't say much other than "love is good." Also, I'm pretty sure we banned the use of saccharin years ago.
2 - Christopher Rose
Matt Sussman, so relatively young yet so cynical!
Do you still have any vestigial traces of altruism and hope or has your life ground it all out of you?
Better yet, do you have any better ideas? Enquiring minds want to know...