Priorities

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” – Barbara Johnson

Many of us will can have our ears filled with the best of advice, and still not listen to it. There’s a difference between hearing and actually listening, as well as reading and actually understanding. We all have a lot of things to balance in our lives, but we should never allow ourselves to be consumed by problems more than enjoy the love that is present.

Just as the glass is half-full or half-empty, our minds will be consumed with what we put in front of it. If we’re always trying to solve problems, then we’re only going to see problems. It can almost appear that we would need problems in order to give ourselves a sense of “purpose” of being useful and working towards something meaningful. However, we can’t just make our own fights in order to make ourselves useful. We are called to action when the moment properly presents itself.

Instead of choosing to actively engage in solving problems, we would benefit to engage in loving others. This is incredibly more effective when it comes to solving problems in the sense of winning arguments and trying to fix something or someone. Love isn’t as easy as the fairytales and songs make it out to be. Sometimes love can be quite difficult and requires patience to actively love while in the face of disagreement, rejection, or delay.

Hate and anger come easily when we run into hard times or find ourselves in unresolved conflicts. We feel we deserve to feel the way we do and we often “feel good” reveling in that hate and “being right.” But, what is right? We all make mistakes. If everyone decides to hold onto their hate indefinitely, then we might as we just end all relationships and live as hermits. We learn to see ourselves in a positive light, and begin to take ourselves less seriously when we decide to forgive others and accept them as they are.

Some people are just different than us. It doesn’t mean that either party is wrong when there’s a disagreement, but rather the two personalities aren’t necessarily compatible in certain areas. Both may have their strengths, their weaknesses, and their own unique opinions. We can do more for ourselves and for others when we allow ourselves to love others, despite their differences, rather than try to solve the “problem.”

For further related reading, please check out: Finding Patience.