An Epiphany

I have been practicing meditation for about six months now. The main reason was because it helps me feel less stressed and more in tune with myself.

A few days ago, I was just sitting on my bed thinking about nothing in particular, when a thought just came to me.

That thought told me that I can never hate again, I can never use the word hate, and I cannot harbor that feeling towards anyone. I do not hate anybody, I cannot hate anybody. No matter how mean they are to me, no matter if they are jerks, no matter how jealous I am of them. Hate is no longer part of my dictionary, I am now mentally throwing the word out the window.

I can never say that I hate myself because it shouldn't be news that I am going to have to live with myself forever. I must love myself unconditionally, I must love my body the way it is, I must love my mind for the way it thinks, I must love my personality, no matter how many glitches it has.

I will not hate others no matter how mean they are, because whatever faults others have stem from a root. I must love the people I care about and I must not judge the people I do not know. For people who are mean to me, I must understand. I must understand that they are the way they are, if they are making me unhappy, then I must change my view on the situation. I can let their nasty words and unkind looks pass through me with no affect. Because if I let something get to me, then it is me who is making myself unhappy.

I could hate the pain that I am in, or I could understand that it is my teacher, it is there to teach me to be careful with my body. I could hate the way that I am, but I have to live with myself for the entirety of my life, why would I want to live so long with someone that I hated? I could be angry and resentful towards those who make me unhappy, or I could understand them and love them to the best of my ability.

So, the lesson of the day, is not to harbor hate, because really, the only person we are hurting is ourselves. Whenever we find ourselves feeling anger, jealousy, hatred, etc. we should not be angry with ourselves. We should understand that this is a part of us, and forgive ourselves for having those feelings. We are only human. When we are harboring any of those feelings we must remember love, patience and kindness. Hatred isn't healthy and it doesn't do anyone any good. As the Buddha says, "Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love-this is an old rule."