Guided Meditations By Dr. Andrea Pennington

Day 17 | ~ Thich Nhat Hanh: To love our enemy is impossible |Self-love can heal our enemies, too. In a time with endless wars, economic stress, racial profiling and political uprising it is easy for us to label others as bad or evil. Suddenly we have more enemies than any other time in history. Hatred seems so justifiable. And yet, the most intelligent among us repeatedly say that it is our compassion for our enemy that will set us free from hatred, stealing, war and corruption. So, we are all sad, enraged and full of vengeful emotions. But vengeance will not solve the problems of racism or displaced anger, rage and hostility. We are reminded of the grace of Gandhi who suggests instead, that we should “be the change we want to see in the world.” Can we allow our pain, anger and frustration to motivate and inspire us to carry peace and tolerance forward? Can our collective enlightenment empower the aggressors, who in their ignorance, pain and confusion project hatred toward others?