What Love Cures

“Love cures people — both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it “— Karl A. Menninger

I’m not talking about the “I love yous” and other gestures of affection.

I’m talking about love as selfless acts, as in giving without expecting anything in return. From parents who care for children to volunteers who work for causes or friends who care about each other, we don’t need love to be reciprocated; we do it because people’s lives are worth a little bit of our time.

It’s this love that people need to survive. It’s the love that they crave. There’s always a need for it, that longing that can only be filled by the love of others.

And it’s not because they don’t have any. It’s because our love is too small to fill the hole in their hearts and make their lives worth living.

If you’ve ever found yourself in this situation and feel the same way, you might want to give more love to other people. Maybe you’ll want to spread this love so that others will find happiness.

But where can you find this love?

You can start by loving yourself. Start working out or eating healthy. Learn to love the body you were born with. Exercise and improve your mind so that your body will be capable of doing things you want it to do.

You don’t need to be perfect, but learning to accept who you are is a good step toward happiness. What’s more, it’s not selfish to take pride in yourself and your successes — it will make your life more fulfilling.

You can start by helping others. Volunteer for NGOs or help the homeless. Donate blood or money to charity organizations that can use it for good.

You’ll feel good knowing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life and helped them find happiness, with the satisfaction of knowing that their lives are worth something after all.

You can start by loving your family and friends. When you’re happy, they’ll be happy. When they’re happy, you’ll be happy — and you never know when you might need them.

And if all of that’s not enough to make you feel loved and appreciated, maybe it’s time to give love to the world.

Spread the love and happiness that so many people lack, spreading a little bit of sunshine wherever you go. Keep smiling and making others feel better, just like a ray of sunshine can brighten otherwise dark days.

We don’t need to feel inferior to the people around us. We don’t need them to be better than us. We just need to love each other; it’s that simple.

And in the end, isn’t that all we want? Isn’t that the reason why we’re here on this Earth? To love and to be loved?

Love can cure a lot of things — depression, loneliness, and even a broken heart.

Loving yourself and loving others will make you a better person, as it will make others better people. It’s love that binds us all together, in every relationship we have. It’s what makes our lives worth living in the first place.

And if nothing else, I hope this article makes you think about what love means to you — and how you can spread love to the world.

Well, this is a blog post based on opinion, not a piece of professional advice.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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