How to Choose Love Over Hate for a More Peaceful Life
Published November 14, 2022
Choosing love over hate might be one of the most difficult things we can do. But it’s also the most noble.
You see, it’s easy to love the people who are dear to us. But it’s also very easy to hate those who treat us with hate. The real challenge, however, is in choosing to love those that we hate.
I mean, if I’ll ask you right now, would you be willing to forgive those who have wronged you? Will you help your enemy if they ask for your help? Most of us will probably answer with a resounding “no”.
But hating the people who hate us will only breed more hate. As Mahatma Gandhi once said: if we practice an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, soon the whole world will be blind and toothless.
In short, if we repay hatred with more hatred, the world will soon be overrun with spiteful people who hurt others just because they can.
That’s why if we want to make the world a better place, we must learn to choose love over hate – every single time.
What Does It Mean to Choose Love Over Hate?
Choosing love over hate is a personal decision. It means more than just being nice to someone you don’t like. Or holding your tongue when somebody is being rude to you.
To choose love means letting go of all the hatred, angst, and resentment in your heart. It’s about emptying yourself of all the negative emotions that are dragging you to that inescapable abyss of hatred.
A heart filled with rage won’t have any room for love. But if we empty ourselves of all those negative emotions, we’re making more room for love to take root and grow. And when we’re filled with love, we won’t have any time to hate.
Choosing Love Over Hate
Yes, choosing love over hate isn’t easy. We’d rather curse our enemies than wish them happiness. That’s why choosing love over hate is a decision that we have to make every single day.
Here are some things you can do to ensure that you’re making the right choice:
1. Choose to be Kind
They say that kindness is love in action. That couldn’t be any more true. You can’t be kind to someone without loving them. Similarly, you can’t claim to love someone if you can’t even treat them kindly.
That’s why choosing love over hate also means choosing to be kind. When you choose to offer a supportive smile rather than snorts of derision or when you opt for encouraging words instead of cursing someone to hell and back, you’re already choosing love over hate.
It doesn’t matter who you are or who you’re talking to, kindness shouldn’t be exclusive. To choose love means being kind to everyone regardless of their income, social status, or how they treated you.
2. Practice Compassion
By definition, compassion is being concerned for the misfortune of others. But being compassionate means more than just taking pity on others.
In the dictionary, compassion is defined as a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This means that there are two components to practicing compassion: sympathy and a desire to relieve others of their distress.
In short, there is no compassion without action. It’s easy to say that you feel sorry for your enemies. But that’s not what compassion is about.
Choosing love over hate goes beyond feeling sorry for those who hurt you. It’s about taking action and lending them a helping hand. That’s what compassion is about. That’s what love is about.
3. Empathize
Empathizing with others is usually easier said than done, especially if they’re your sworn enemies. I mean, how can you put yourself in that person’s shoes when you don’t even want to step in those shoes? Also, how can you empathize with people who you can’t even see eye to eye with?
But you see, that’s the power of empathy. It lets you understand where people are coming from and what battles they’re fighting.
As you know, not everyone is purposely hateful. Some were raised in an environment where hatred and violence are a part of everyday life. They become so used to it that it’s the only way they know how to treat others.
Practicing empathy helps you see beyond their hateful acts. It helps you understand why they have so much hatred in them. And when you finally understand them and see beyond the hatred, you’ll see someone with motivations, frustrations, and fears – someone exactly like you.
4. Forgive
Forgiveness is one of the most essential steps to choosing love over hate. You can’t empathize or show compassion to someone if you haven’t forgiven them.
Besides, forgiving people is such a liberating experience. It helps you let go of all the hatred and enmity inside you. Without all those negative emotions dragging you down, you’ll have more room for kindness, compassion, and empathy.
Wrapping It Up
It isn’t always easy to choose love over hate. That’s why it’s a constant challenge for us. There’s already a lot of hatred in the world because hating someone is easier. But if all of us choose to forgive, be kind, and show empathy and compassion, then the world would be a much, much better place to live in.
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About The Author
Judy Ponio is a professional writer and devoted Christian. She has a passion for writing about topics related to morality and helping the poor and homeless. She is the lead author for the Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen blog.
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