Love or Hate? Neither.

Why is it more important to love than to hate? That seemed to me a question with an obvious answer. But, if it were obvious, perhaps there would be less hatred in the world. And then I thought, why either? They are both extreme emotions: either intense affection or intense dislike. I have found that the happy marriages I have seen endure have in common the less extreme characteristic of truly liking one another as people. When they like each other as people, mutual respect seems to follow which generally leads to being kind to one another.

And then I thought, perhaps it isn’t that there is too much hate or too little love in the world, but rather too little kindness. You do not have to love someone to be kind. You don’t even have to know someone to be kind. How much more pleasant the world would be if everyone could find it in themselves to treat every person they met with kindness. No judgement based on preconceived notions because of looks, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, race, economics, etc. If there were more kindness, perhaps there would be fewer incidents inciting hatred, and more enduring love. Even within families there can be a dearth of kindness. How many times have you seen or experienced horrible unkindness meted out family member on family member?

So, for me, it is neither love nor hatred that is more important in the world, but rather kindness.