I was listening to a spiritual discussion where the person was describing the difference between others loving us versus we loving others! I hadn't given much thought to this point prior to this. He explained when others love us, like in the case of a celebrity, where thousands of people love him, he feels happy for that moment, but may feel lonely afterwards as he has no one to call as his own. But when we love someone, they become part of us, and we are filled with happiness, as love is our natural state of love.
What is love actually? About 80 years ago, psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan of the University of Chicago offered a definition of love, which I find all of us can connect with: "When the happiness, security, and well-being of another person is as real or more to us than our own, we love that person." When we love others, then we feel that their happiness and well-being matter to us greatly, and hence, we act accordingly.
When we love others, we expand in our thinking, our hearts, and so many aspects. It makes us a better human being as loving others frees us from preoccupation with our own problems and associated destructive emotions. Life becomes interesting as we move away from selfishness, and we are able to forge deeper friendships.
Loving others gives us a reason to engage in meaningful activities as those will give happiness to our loved ones. This acts as a source of hope for us to make a difference in the life of others. When we are actively engaged in doing all this, we get joy. And we can only give what we have, so we end up giving happiness and joy to all others around us when we love them!
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