Honey Gouda

“Choose to love in the face of hate.”

Oprah Winfrey

It is so important not to succumb to hatred when our purpose in life is to love.

I believe that our purpose in life is to love, be loved, and be love. Learning lessons could also be argued to be the purpose of life but I think that love encompasses this, because love can be the greatest teacher of all.

So why is there so much hate in our world, if our only purpose is to love?

The quote “Choose to love in the face of hate” is from an episode of Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast. What I love about this quote is that it highlights the fact that love is sometimes a choice and it isn’t always easy.

Because love takes vulnerability.

To love someone is scary. They might not love you back, they may break your heart, you might break theirs. 

To love yourself is scary, maybe you’ll lose motivation to become better if you love yourself completely. Maybe people will see you as conceited or maybe loving yourself seems impossible because society has taught you that you are unlovable. 

To love a friend, family member, or stranger is scary. They may reject you or use your love against you. They might see your love as overwhelming, underwhelming, or unnecessary.

But hatred is easy. When you hate someone, you are in control. They cannot hurt you and they cannot break your heart. Hatred does not require vulnerability because it is the opposite. Hate closes your heart completely.

That is why so many people chose to hate because loving is scary and it hurts and it can make you feel really, really stupid.

But at the end of the day, you have to accept that love will hurt because a life without love is worthless. And love is so much more than the pain that can accompany it. 

Love is also the most precious, beautiful, raw emotion in the world. Nothing can ever compare to being loved or feeling love. 

If we were all more open and vulnerable with each other, there would no longer be any space left for hatred. A world founded in love would still present pain and conflict—as it should, these are our greatest teachers—but it would be fundamentally distinct in that everyone could experience pure peace in knowing that their purpose in life has been fulfilled.