Imagine you have all the comforts of life, like good food to eat and a nice bed to sleep in, but no love. Would you still be okay with it?

Our life is worth nothing without love. Even animals want and reciprocate this feeling. For example, if you have a cat at home and you’re not there for a day or two, the cat will miss your presence and will express its love when you come back. She will run to you and purr on your feet. Yes, those of you who have a cat will agree to this.

To be a human is to be connected with feelings. As a child, we had this quality that whatever we did or said was very genuine, straight from the heart. But as we grew older, we realised that there was a link between our words and feelings. We became conscious of how this link can be broken and we can hide our true feelings, mask them with words we don’t mean. That is where the lack of authenticity happens and life becomes dull.

We need to realise that frequently, the words we say aren’t always coming from the heart. They are just coming from the lips and our minds are elsewhere. Saying things we don’t mean becomes a habit when we practice it long enough. But, when someone is very close to us, our words carry weight, vibrations and feelings. Our words affect others, even when we don’t mean what we say. Have you noticed that?

Why can’t we be nice to everyone the way we are with our loved ones? It’s time we balance our personal and social life, which is the art of living. We need to take care of our feelings, body and mind. Let us try to be responsible towards society and, at the same time, not neglect our self-development.

Let us keep our emotions pure, gentle and soft. Let kindness develop within us, as it is the rent we must pay for the space we occupy on this planet.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 16th, 2021