The "This I Believe" Essay is a movement created by National Public Radio to allow people to define and better understand their beliefs. Typically, the essays consist of approximately 500 words and the subject matter is touches the core of what we hold to be true. Through challenge we find strength, and defining exactly what one believes is no simple task.
I believe that there is not enough love.
Every day we are influenced by countless forces. Whether it be an acquaintance’s reaction to a statement or the persuasion of a book. Each day we come into contact with a culture of apathy that defines our society. I would invite the reader to ask himself or herself to where he or she sees love; where he or she finds people who truly love his or her neighbor. We are tempted to rebuttal with relationships of friends and family or spiritual communities. But are our relationships created and based on true and meaningful love? I am unsure as to if we can answer yes. Too often do people waste relationships by settling for what they currently have. Contemporary societal values do not promote true human connections and label them awkward or taboo. Men rarely find others to confide in, to share their thoughts, worries, experiences, hardships, and passions in for we do not
venture into vulnerable situations. Today, men are islands in the sense that we only display our shores and outer protection of foliage. We do not venture inside. But the problem is deeper than our donning of masks, the problem is that we do not have the desire to truly love and therefore do not have the want to love.
Examine the world around us, men are driven by a want for run, distraction, and entertainment. We are not motivated by a love for community or society, as men were in the times of the Greeks, and most men are not motivated by a love for our neighbor, as many religious peoples profess. We have forgotten love and our true connection with men that results from vulnerability and giving of ourselves. Perhaps we have forgotten love because we have forgotten the value and joy in true human relationships as temporal and fun pursuits are immediately and tangibly gratifying and easier. Should this be the cause, then enlightenment I the solution, but as in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, some may not understand the light nor want it. Therefore, if we are unable to push men to rediscover love themselves, we must show and inspire them.
There is not enough love in this world and we must change this.
I believe that we love to bring joy to the lives of others, that through care, sacrifice, and giving we become closer to
our brothers and work for their betterment. I believe that love is defined as willing the good of another in every action we take. Finally, I believe that we should love for the purpose of bring joy to others (which is a purpose in and of itself, and that through love the sacrifice and giving of a relentless love we may find truth – what is right, meaningful, important, and what we truly need – and we love so that we may find joy in our own lives.
I believe that there is not enough love.
Every day we are influenced by countless forces. Whether it be an acquaintance’s reaction to a statement or the persuasion of a book. Each day we come into contact with a culture of apathy that defines our society. I would invite the reader to ask himself or herself to where he or she sees love; where he or she finds people who truly love his or her neighbor. We are tempted to rebuttal with relationships of friends and family or spiritual communities. But are our relationships created and based on true and meaningful love? I am unsure as to if we can answer yes. Too often do people waste relationships by settling for what they currently have. Contemporary societal values do not promote true human connections and label them awkward or taboo. Men rarely find others to confide in, to share their thoughts, worries, experiences, hardships, and passions in for we do not
venture into vulnerable situations. Today, men are islands in the sense that we only display our shores and outer protection of foliage. We do not venture inside. But the problem is deeper than our donning of masks, the problem is that we do not have the desire to truly love and therefore do not have the want to love.
Examine the world around us, men are driven by a want for run, distraction, and entertainment. We are not motivated by a love for community or society, as men were in the times of the Greeks, and most men are not motivated by a love for our neighbor, as many religious peoples profess. We have forgotten love and our true connection with men that results from vulnerability and giving of ourselves. Perhaps we have forgotten love because we have forgotten the value and joy in true human relationships as temporal and fun pursuits are immediately and tangibly gratifying and easier. Should this be the cause, then enlightenment I the solution, but as in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, some may not understand the light nor want it. Therefore, if we are unable to push men to rediscover love themselves, we must show and inspire them.
There is not enough love in this world and we must change this.
I believe that we love to bring joy to the lives of others, that through care, sacrifice, and giving we become closer to
our brothers and work for their betterment. I believe that love is defined as willing the good of another in every action we take. Finally, I believe that we should love for the purpose of bring joy to others (which is a purpose in and of itself, and that through love the sacrifice and giving of a relentless love we may find truth – what is right, meaningful, important, and what we truly need – and we love so that we may find joy in our own lives.