
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr, I wanted to reflect on one of my favorite quotes of his. The only way to combat those of a negative nature is with love and positivity. It may be a news flash to some, but you cannot ‘out hate’ a person. Everyone ends up losing. The negative physical effects of hate will end up costing you in the long run. The increase in stress hormones will raise blood pressure, cause headaches, upset stomach and a host of other not so wonderful maladies. What is the payoff of hate? There really is none. It will cost you sleep. It will weaken your immune system and drain your energy.
On the flip side, love has a host of wonderful benefits for you. If you can fill your life with love, you will experience faster healing from wounds, better sleep, lower blood pressure and better pain relief. Not to mention your view of the world will change. When we fill our hearts and minds with hate, the world reflects those emotions to us. The world takes on a dark and foreboding feeling. We feel that everyone is out to get us. That bad luck seems to follow us around. When we are filled with love, we notice opportunities that we may have missed. Those around us feel it too. They share a smile with us. We seem to attract other love-filled souls.
Next time you are faced with hate of any kind, or even just a negative personality, remember the words in the quote above. You cannot drive darkness out with more darkness, and you can’t drive hate out with more hate. Fill yourself with love. It will change your life and it just might save your life.