A thought...

Ya'll know how much I love to ramble! Where here's some more rambling.

I was just thinking about the concept of spreading love and not spreading hate. About a year ago, I had the misfortune of coming into conflict with a certain individual whose ethics, I thought, were questionable. He behaved in a way I thought to be most aprehensible. I never insisted to him that he change his actions outside of him not contacting me or Shari ever again. Shari ended up having to drop her text messaging from her phone because he kept sending her messages for which she was being charged.

So all throughout his harrassment, he kept preaching that we needed to stop spreading hate. Actually, that's been his mantra for as long as I've known his existence: spread love not hate.

So last night, for some strange reason, I dreamed of this guy. I hadn't thought about him for quite some time. I awoke with a certain realization and I'd like to share this with you.

His claim was that we were full of hate, putting it out in the universe. Our actions, he preached, should come from a place of love and we should be putting love out there. But you see, how we feel is how we feel. I'm not saying I hate. Actually, I'm not one for hating. But how we feel is different than how we treat people. I can be full of rage but sitting quietly on my cushion. I can also be full of love while kicking a homeless guy. Hate is out there. Love is out there. What is important is how we treat other people. And whether or not we are spreading love or hate depends not how we feel but rather how we make other people feel.

I am going to hate what I hate and love what I love. I am not going to force myself to feel any different. But I will control my reactions to my emotions and the way I treat others regardless of those feelings.

My friend claimed to be spreading love because his actions were based on love. But the people he came in to contact with were hurt and damaged. What he spread was not love. It may not have been hatred. It sure as hell wasn't healthy.

So how do you feel about me? Because that's what I'm spreading.