Love Your Enemies

I have the occasional privilege of sharing my wisdom with the youth of Australia and on one particular event the topic was 'Loving your enemies'.

I think people nowadays take these words too literally and forget the true meaning of it. I don't think Jesus literally meant hug someone who's holding a gun to your head, whether you are religious or not I think it serves us a great insight to the way we understand the world around us.

Don't get me wrong, to love your enemy is one of the most difficult things in life and like everyone else I find it almost impossible to swallow my pride and love the people I despise. This is a common issue in amongst us humans, a hatred builds inside towards those that may have harmed us in some way and causes for us to react or behave destructively. This is something that no matter what we do to them, won't make us any happier. If you were to resent and harm individual who irritates you, the hatred that is built inside only begins to increase. Will it make you happier if that anger is still welling up inside? How can you get rid of such a feeling if the cause of it doesn't go away?

It is all about being wise and open minded. It begins from within you. As a person who has an irritated issue against them, you must learn to be patient and let go of the feelings that you have when associating with that individual. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine the things that they may have gone through, the possible reasons why they are who they are. It's important to see the world from another person's perspective so that you can understand, how they're feeling and that deep down they are just flesh and blood like you.

However, seeing through their eyes is not the hardest part, it is learning and seeking to accept them for who they are. Accepting others for who they are is a part of life, you're going to go through so many years having to accept it because it won't change. An unwillingness to accept is an unwillingness to love. Forgive, let go and find something about them to love. Find a reason to love them, and reach out to them, you never know all along this certain person or people could have been your long lost friend for life.

Go out there and test yourself, be a better person.