where does the end lie?
a dear friend of mine sent me an article about emotional intelligence (ironically, I had to look up how to spell "intelligence"...), and I was amazed at many of the truths included.
one that stuck out to me, though, resonates particularly deeply.
in discussing empathy, the author writes this:
"You learn to value their existence and treat them as their own end rather than a means for something else."
this sentence alone opens my eyes to the endless number of ways that I treat others as a means to some selfish end -- often to the end of my own glorification, the puffing up of the paper thin caricature of my true self.
but this end is a lie -- it is lying! you can probably feel it by just thinking about it: the familiar feeling of your pride being hurt or swollen; the craving for attention and the fleeting gratification of praise.
all of this is emptiness, as we are likely all well aware. but this doesn't end our pursuit of these broken vessels, does it?
let's collectively grow in awareness of our responses and our thoughts and remain centered on loving others and treating them "as their own end". the Lord does not call us to "love" others (by this i mean with mere flattery, as I have often caught myself engaging in...) so that they will think better of us. we are to daily, moment by moment, lay down our lives for our neighbors in response to our Savior's incomparably humble sacrifice for us. what a joy!
there is infinitely more joy in communion with others when we are free of envy, guilt, selfishness, etc. while we will never be fully free of these things in our lifetimes, we can always be so much freer :)
love love love you!!
♡
~ william
one that stuck out to me, though, resonates particularly deeply.
in discussing empathy, the author writes this:
"You learn to value their existence and treat them as their own end rather than a means for something else."
this sentence alone opens my eyes to the endless number of ways that I treat others as a means to some selfish end -- often to the end of my own glorification, the puffing up of the paper thin caricature of my true self.
but this end is a lie -- it is lying! you can probably feel it by just thinking about it: the familiar feeling of your pride being hurt or swollen; the craving for attention and the fleeting gratification of praise.
all of this is emptiness, as we are likely all well aware. but this doesn't end our pursuit of these broken vessels, does it?
let's collectively grow in awareness of our responses and our thoughts and remain centered on loving others and treating them "as their own end". the Lord does not call us to "love" others (by this i mean with mere flattery, as I have often caught myself engaging in...) so that they will think better of us. we are to daily, moment by moment, lay down our lives for our neighbors in response to our Savior's incomparably humble sacrifice for us. what a joy!
there is infinitely more joy in communion with others when we are free of envy, guilt, selfishness, etc. while we will never be fully free of these things in our lifetimes, we can always be so much freer :)
love love love you!!
♡
~ william
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