Today's
quotation:
Let us not be satisfied with just giving money.
Money is not enough;
money can be got, but they need your
hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go; first of all in
your
own home. Give love
to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door
neighbor.
Mother Teresa
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Today's
Meditation:
There's
so much that we can give in life that has nothing to do
with money or material goods. It's very kind and
considerate to give money and material goods to people who
need it, of course, but material and financial needs are
not necessarily as important as our need for love. We all need
to be loved, and many of the ills of our societies result
from the actions of people who haven't received enough
love in their lives. The feeling of being unloved
causes much heartbreak and depression, and can cause
people to do things that they probably wouldn't do if they
felt loved.
How
can we give love? I ask myself this question a
lot. Can I give love without making others feel
uncomfortable? Can I give love in appropriate
ways? Can I give love to complete strangers?
I
think I can do so, and I try to as much as I can. I
try to spread love with kind words and a smile. I
try to spread love by listening when people talk, without
trying to put in my own two cents' worth. I try to
spread love by performing truly anonymous acts of
kindness. I try to spread love by saying a silent,
private prayer when I see people in need. I try to
spread love through service, through encouragement,
through compliments, and through anything else that can be
seen as a positive contribution to another person's
life--no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to
be.
Spreading
love is much like teaching--we usually don't see the
results of our efforts. If the love is true, though,
we don't need to see the results. And when we
practice spreading our love in these ways, people get to
know us as loving people--and then they become much more
receptive to the love that we're trying to give.
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