True love expects nothing in return

OFTEN, people in roles of authority, instead of serving the needs of people, exploit these needs for their own purposes, namely to maintain position and power. When this happens, there is a great deal of violence, whether religious, social or political.

One particular type of violence committed by people is, when they try to cover up their own insecurities by highlighting the weakness, mistakes, or failure of others, and by manipulating emotions and situations to make others feel guilty for what they are or what they have done or what they should have done.

When there is love, there is no desire to compete with or dominate the other because, in one way, the other is myself.

How I value and evaluate the other is the mirror of how I evaluate and value myself. What I say or do to the other is what I say or do to myself.

Love creates a constant respect for all things. Love without respect is not love but a mixture of familiarity and base needs, and this gradually develops into exploitation. In this condition, the honour of the other’s existence is lost.

Love generates trust. Trust is the heart of personal development in a relationship. Without trust, there is no growth and no stability. Trust comes from the feeling that this relationship, this friendship has permanence. It is a commitment of two beings that is long-term; not a short-term convenience or expediency.

Love maintains loyalty. Loyalty is the result of seeing the worth of the other, and comes when there is a willingness to grow together and to learn to accept any limitation as a springboard for generosity.

Generosity overlooks weakness and keeps the vision on the other’s true self.

“One way to change others is to handle them with love.”