I think the world would be better if we loved each other better.
Simple idea. Complicated execution.
I think love takes practice.
Dallas Willard defines love as, “to will the good of others.”
If I love someone, I want the best things for them.
This can be hard. It is easy to be self-interested.
Self-interest is not always bad. I have to be somewhat self-interested. Otherwise, I wouldn’t eat, I wouldn’t exercise, and I wouldn’t look for traffic before crossing the street.
But self-interest makes it hard to see beyond ourselves.
To see beyond ourselves we need be intentional.
Here’s something I do occasionally when I feel myself becoming overly self-interested.
I write down the names of three people who I’d like to love better.
It could be a difficult family member.
It could be a political figure I don’t agree with.
It could be a difficult co-worker.
It could be an athlete on a rival team (Kevin Durant).
It could be someone who has been getting on my nerves.
Then I write down three good things I hope for them.
I try to be intentional to hope for things that don’t affect me.
Then I imagine those people receiving what I hoped for them.
It brings clarity.
It helps me to see the people around me with intention to give, and not to take.
It breaks the self-interest that can be suffocating.
It helps me make the world better.
Who do you need to love today?
Who do you need to see differently?
Try practicing it.