I hope you feel better with time. I think it’s important to note that universal love, including compassion for those suffering, is always a pleasant feeling. It doesn’t hurt the way pity or lamenting might; there’s no grief in it, just well-wishing.
But Hitler is dead
This is an important point. While unconditional love has no boundaries, including time, it can be a major complication to start the effort with past beings or hypothetical future ones as the object. It’s usually easier to start with one (or many) of the countless beings who are experiencing life right now. For the exercise of this post, a better case study than Hitler might be Putin or Trump (or Biden, etc.). This way, we don’t have to additionally posit time travel, simulations, alternate universes, or what death entails.
I hope that on some other spin of the wheel we can be friends.
I love this sentiment and the personal details you shared. Learning about Hitler’s good qualities was great too. Thank you!
. It doesn’t hurt the way pity or lamenting might; there’s no grief in it, just well-wishing.
While true, I think there’s a caveat that often the thing preventing the feeling of true love from coming forth can be unprocessed grief that needs to be felt, or unprocessed pain that needs to be forgiven.
I think there’s a danger in saying “if love feels painful you’re doing this wrong” as often that’s exactly the developmentally correct thing to be experiencing in order to get to the love underneath.
In order to get to the love underneath, it’s wonderful to forgive pain, as you say. But forgiving pain feels good. It isn’t painful.
Unconditional love has no conditions. Feeling grief is not required. Everyone’s invited, as they are. If grief arises, the best thing to do is to let it go as soon as it’s noticed. Maybe that’s what you mean by “process” it, in which case we agree.
I think oftentimes what’s needed to let go of grief is to stop pushing it away, in doing that, it may be felt more fully, which once the message is received, can allow you to let it go. This process may involve fully feeling pain that you were suppressing.
oftentimes what’s needed to let go of grief is to stop pushing it away
Agreed! Grief itself is often just the pushing-it-away habit in relation to unpleasant thoughts or sensations.
This process may involve fully feeling pain that you were suppressing.
It may. But just as grief need not be pushed away, neither should it be sought. “Fully feeling pain” and “fully feeling love” are two different activities. If the pain takes time to change, I’m all for the patient and forgiving approach you suggest.
I don’t have much trouble being empathetic or loving to Biden/Trump/Putin either. They are all people with many good and bad qualities. I can imagine myself trying to help. For example if they were ever subjected to solitary confinement I think I would at least call my Senator and ask they receive genuinely humane treatment. It is hard to imagine more idk ‘personal’ situations since im a normal person and they (current or former) world leaders.
I hope you feel better with time. I think it’s important to note that universal love, including compassion for those suffering, is always a pleasant feeling. It doesn’t hurt the way pity or lamenting might; there’s no grief in it, just well-wishing.
This is an important point. While unconditional love has no boundaries, including time, it can be a major complication to start the effort with past beings or hypothetical future ones as the object. It’s usually easier to start with one (or many) of the countless beings who are experiencing life right now. For the exercise of this post, a better case study than Hitler might be Putin or Trump (or Biden, etc.). This way, we don’t have to additionally posit time travel, simulations, alternate universes, or what death entails.
I love this sentiment and the personal details you shared. Learning about Hitler’s good qualities was great too. Thank you!
While true, I think there’s a caveat that often the thing preventing the feeling of true love from coming forth can be unprocessed grief that needs to be felt, or unprocessed pain that needs to be forgiven.
I think there’s a danger in saying “if love feels painful you’re doing this wrong” as often that’s exactly the developmentally correct thing to be experiencing in order to get to the love underneath.
In order to get to the love underneath, it’s wonderful to forgive pain, as you say. But forgiving pain feels good. It isn’t painful.
Unconditional love has no conditions. Feeling grief is not required. Everyone’s invited, as they are. If grief arises, the best thing to do is to let it go as soon as it’s noticed. Maybe that’s what you mean by “process” it, in which case we agree.
I think oftentimes what’s needed to let go of grief is to stop pushing it away, in doing that, it may be felt more fully, which once the message is received, can allow you to let it go. This process may involve fully feeling pain that you were suppressing.
Agreed! Grief itself is often just the pushing-it-away habit in relation to unpleasant thoughts or sensations.
It may. But just as grief need not be pushed away, neither should it be sought. “Fully feeling pain” and “fully feeling love” are two different activities. If the pain takes time to change, I’m all for the patient and forgiving approach you suggest.
I don’t have much trouble being empathetic or loving to Biden/Trump/Putin either. They are all people with many good and bad qualities. I can imagine myself trying to help. For example if they were ever subjected to solitary confinement I think I would at least call my Senator and ask they receive genuinely humane treatment. It is hard to imagine more idk ‘personal’ situations since im a normal person and they (current or former) world leaders.