Skip to main content

How to Satisfy Our Biggest Hunger - to be Loved




Everything Minus Love = Nothing

Humans crave, dream about, obsess over, search for, and pray for love. Can you think of any meaningful relationships that don’t require some form of love to be successful? I can’t.

If love is that important, then it’s reasonable to think that it affects our perspective, attitudes, mental health, spirituality, and happiness. In fact, we’d probably all agree that it belongs under the category of ‘necessity’.

Love comes in many forms. We humans most often think in terms of romantic love. While that is undoubtedly one of my favorites, it’s not the ONLY type of love that’s important to our happiness.

Along with brotherly love and love of family, there is another form of love that balances all others. It’s a love based on the highest moral principle.

What are the characteristics of this higher form of love? When we display this type of love we unselfishly put the needs of others ahead of our own even if those ‘others’ or strangers to us. It is founded on the principles of moral excellence and strives for what is good for all. It’s what gives us the motivation to rise above prejudice, jealousy, hatred, and apathy. Love based on high-moral principle is powerful and dynamic. It makes good things happen.

A person willing to hold himself accountable to the highest form of moral excellence in love will be able to grasp this type of love, make it part of himself, and use it in a mighty way as a force to shape his life and happiness.

A comprehensive description of this form of love is given in a source many people trust, some doubt, and others dismiss. But really, isn’t it worth at least a look?

If as that source claims — Love Never Fails — then it should have some tangible benefits if we pursue and obtain it for ourselves. Let’s consider what some of these might be.

Benefits

  • Love that is principled, dynamic, and actionable has the ability to grow and become stronger, giving us more and more ways to use its power.
  • Principled love is a strong foundation on which to build all other types of love. It can cause other types of love to be tough and expansive, leading to longer-lasting relationships that are adaptable and resilient, leading to more contentment and happiness.
  • Principled love lays a stable foundation in marriage and families, giving everyone a real sense of peace and security.
  • Principled love promotes mental and emotional balance which facilitates good mental and physical health.
  • Principled love promotes stable societies and enables an attitude of brotherhood.
  • Principled love would not allow for harmful and toxic attitudes and actions.

Conclusion

Agape is the catalyst that makes value appear in anything. ~Peter Kreeft

Agape is the Greek word for principled love. And the above quote really resonates with me.

This higher form of love’s expression raises the value of good deeds and actions. It raises the value of people and therefore, relationships. It raises the value of human life and happiness. It raises the value of world peace and justice.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are You a Door Slammer - What Does it Accomplish

                                                 Purrrrr..."Who asked that stupid question?" I think most of us at some time in our lives have slammed a door out of frustration or anger. I know I'm guilty. It's not something I do now, and I'm not sure why I've done it in the past, except that it was a way to make sure that those around me knew I was upset.  But thinking back on the action, it was really a reaction to my own uncontrolled emotions. And to address the question as to what it accomplished, it would be easier to tell you what it DIDN'T accomplish. It didn't make those around me care more about my feelings. It didn't improve the situation at hand. It didn't make me a better person. It didn't get me what I wanted. It didn't show how mature I was or thought I was. It didn't punish anyone but myself. It didn't make me feel like I had won anything of va...
Post a Comment
Read more

How I Design a Slow Stitch Fiber Art Project

Step one is to sketch a rough draft of the design you want to create for slow stitching.  Step two is to cut and place fabric and fibers where you want them in your design.  Step 3 is to start layering up individual areas of the design until you achieve the look you want. The next step is to remove each piece as you want to sew it onto your background fabric, leaving the designed piece intact until you're ready to sew them.  If the piece is very intricate, take a photo before starting to sew just in case you need to refer to it later. This is the method I use when designing my slow-stitch pieces. It's easy and works beautifully. This method leaves plenty of room for adding or modifying the design as you go along. Consider it a draft that you can embellish or improve as you work.   
2 comments
Read more

Why Look For Ways to Change Your Dominant Mental Attitude

Let me begin by saying that I’m so ordinary that you’d never notice me even if I were the only one perched on a shelf. And what I’ve learned about maintaining a contented and happy life may only apply to me. But I’m hoping that you might find something that levels up your ability to find the same thing. What Happens When We Constantly Keep Our Heads Down When we look down, we can only see the step we just took and one yet to be taken. That’s an extremely limited view of our life’s potential and one that could never achieve the excitement and joy that we all want to experience. So, metaphorically, we can all lift our heads and let life surprise us by the results we achieve. An Example Of The Cause And Effect Of This Principle In My Life. Sometimes we tend to attribute most of the troublesome aspects of life to circumstances. But lifting our heads and taking a broader view might convince us otherwise. I’m not saying that circumstance doesn’t play its part — it does. But if circumstances ...
Post a Comment
Read more