 |
|
We must love one another or die!
-W.H. Auden
|
 |
From "Loving Each Other" by Leo Buscaglia:
Why are we so afraid to commit ourselves to loving each other?
This is a book about love, tenderness, compassion, caring, sharing and relating-the most vital of human behaviors. Without these qualities life is empty though we may have the best of health, the most comfortable of homes, the most impressive of bank balances. Even knowing this, we spend so little time developing these behaviors. In fact, we are living in a society in which such words as love and commitment have been relegated to sentimental, old-fashioned nonsense. Skeptics are only too ready and capable with quick wit and stinging phrases to ridicule those who continue to speak of broken hearts, of devastating loneliness and the mystical ways and power of love.
If you love, you are considered naive. If happy, you are considered frivolous and simple.
If generous and altruistic, you are considered suspect. If forgiving, you are considered weak. If trusting, you are considered a fool. If you try to be all of these things, people are sure you are a phony. This flippant attitude has had much to do with the breeding of a society of detached, noncommitted persons too sophisticated to admit to their confusion and unhappiness and too caught up in ego to risk doing anything about it. It has perpetuated isolation and devalued basic human values. This, in spite of the fact that over the past years there has been amassed a vast scientific literature which proves that relationships do matter, that intimacy is necessary to sustain, a good productive life, that a hearty laugh can heal, that positive relating brings physical, psychological and mental well being.
Also on Beliefnet:
to receive Health & Healing insights in your inbox everyday.
