“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
We’ve heard these words so many times that sometimes we forget how powerful they really are.
Loving our neighbor doesn’t mean we have to agree with everyone, like everyone, or allow people to treat us poorly. It means choosing compassion over judgment and remembering that every person we meet is carrying something we may know nothing about.
And there is another part of this message that we often overlook: as ourselves.
We cannot continually give from an empty place. Loving ourselves means recognizing our own worth, honoring our boundaries, forgiving ourselves for our mistakes, and giving ourselves the same compassion we so freely offer to others.
When we learn to treat ourselves with kindness, we have more kindness to give.
Perhaps loving our neighbor begins with something very simple: seeing another human being, remembering that we are all imperfect, and choosing a little more understanding than judgment.
Because the world doesn’t need more perfection.
It needs more love.