Are You Afraid?

What is the opposite of Love? Many would say that Hate is the opposite of Love, but love and hate are actually quite closely related. Sometimes, they are a hair's breadth apart. Sometimes, both can exist at the same time, toward the same person or situation. When someone says, "I have a real love/hate relationship with my ex--my exercise routine--my job", they are harboring both emotions at one time. But opposites cannot exist together.

Darkness vanishes in the presence of light. Abundance cannot exist where there is scarcity. There are no limits to a boundless universe. These opposites can only abide separately, not together. One wins, the other is vanquished. Hate sometimes lives with Love. So what is the opposite of Love?

Fear. When there is fear there cannot be love, and Love is the most precious and useful emotion there is. Love can only be explained by poets and teenagers. Love is too often taken for granted; love is not taken for granted often enough. When we feel the highest emotion toward someone, we say, I Love You. Or, sadly, we say, I am afraid of you. Equally powerful, one has the ability to bring joy, the other to cause withdrawal.

Where there is fear, there is uncertainty. In our world today, there is much to be feared. Countries divided, peoples against governments, lone gunmen, terrorist cells. But if we choose to live in this fear, to abide in the feelings of hopelessness and aloneness, we choose to live without Love.

Choose Love.