Saturday, January 14, 2023

Wanting others to be happy with themselves

We want our friends and loved ones to be well, happy, and fulfilled not just because we hope their circumstances are wholesome and interesting but because, whatever their circumstances, we want them to be happy with themselves.  We want them to accept themselves as they are, and as they strive to become, whatever the judgments of others, individually or societally, about them may be.  We want them to be confident in themselves and their abilities and strengths, while benignly accepting the foibles and weaknesses of themselves and of others.  We want them to experience love often every day and to understand the importance of creating conditions for others to do so.