Ordering Your Loves
/I voted last week and as I looked at the names on the ballot, I saw the names of humans who have ideas and opinions about what is best for our nation. They have fears of what might happen in our country should the other party win. They have beliefs about what would be best for our citizens. They have backgrounds, cultures, faiths, spouses, and children that shape their views. They have hopes, dreams, fears, unhealed parts of themselves, insecurities, worries, and loves.
They are humans trying to figure out what it means to be human, just like the rest of us.
Humans have always struggled with the inner pull of ego versus love. Each moment of our existence, we choose which pull we will follow. Saint Augustine taught in the fifth century (~1600 years ago) about staying aware of our ego by reminding us to consider the order in which we list our loves.
“Living a just and holy life requires one to be capable of an objective and impartial evaluation of things; to love things, that is to say, in the right order, so that you do not love what is not to be loved, or fail to love what is to be loved, or have a greater love for what should be loved less, or an equal love for things that should be loved less or more, or a lesser or greater love for things that should be loved equally.” - City of God, 426 CE
In summary: we should each be evaluating the order of our loves.
As I voted, I was considering my list of loves and the order in which they are listed. What do I love the most? Is it money? Is it human rights? Is it freedoms? Is it a political party? Is it power? Is it safety?
Our vote indicates which of our loves are at the top of our list.
We might differ on what love it at the top of our lists. There isn’t a right or wrong here, it is our life and we get to choose what we love the most. It is up to each of us to know if our top loves help us be our most loving selves. Does your top love bring out the worst in you or the best in you?
What is the order of my loves? This is a good thing to ask ourselves today and everyday.
We get to vote, that in itself is a privilege. Let’s use the opportunity to move the arc of humanity toward love.
Compassion and love for all,