Being Openhearted: Am I the Crazy One?

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebellion

To me, being openhearted is nothing sensational. It doesn’t require a radical transformation in the way you live, but in the long run, this small and subtle change can make a difference.

Being openhearted means simply to treat others with respect and kindness no matter their race, gender, religion, or political views. It is a sincere effort to be a positive force promoting love, acceptance, and understanding. It baffles me that this is considered extreme or new agey.

If believing in love makes me some misguided hippie, then I’ll wear that title as a badge of honor. I fail to understand this rejection of love and kindness because they are precisely what the world needs.

It’s clear that we don’t need any more hate. We’re filled to the brim with it already. Just look at any international conflict or spend a little time on social media. It won’t be long before you see some of humanity’s worst qualities.

Hate is making people starve, suffer, and die everywhere. Throughout history, it has caused endless wars at the expense of the poor who were already suffering. We’ve had enough of it. It flourishes today because most people are programed to be self-centered and complacent.

Since society encourages us to be this way, we can’t blame any one individual. We’ve all been conditioned to look out for ourselves at the expense of others. It’s why most of us in privileged countries don’t often think about the poor and hungry.

We have no time to worry about someone else, as we have our own survival-related problems. Honestly, though, our problems pale in comparison to someone who walks miles and miles for clean water. We may have to work hard to earn our food and shelter, but at least we have them.

Despite how stressful life can be, most of us don’t know how good we have it. We have everything we need and even a lot of things we want. The word “privilege” is thrown around a lot these days for various reasons, but for many of us, it’s an accurate description of the life we’re blessed with.

Why not recognize our privilege and let it fuel us to do something good with our lives? Why is the very idea of this dismissed as hippie nonsense? I must not be normal, because to me, the need for love and compassion in a world starved of them is obvious.

If you could talk with someone sensible who believes in these ideas, you’d see that openheartedness is a simple philosophy revolving around the connection we share as people. We’re all going through different variations of the same experience, and if united, we could lift each other up.

Believers in love are not all crazy hippies too preoccupied with their own world to see how the real world works. This philosophy can bring together all people with the understanding that respecting one another and working together would solve many of our worst problems.

We can and should show each other basic respect and decency. We can and should help those who are suffering, because we could just as easily be in their shoes. If believing all this makes me crazy, then it’s symptomatic of the sickness inflicting our society.

We have the potential to make serious positive changes in our lives and in the world. If people can see that being openhearted is more than a new age trend, then maybe more of us will start to care about each other. Maybe those who need help the most will one day get it.

Featured image by Photo Mix from Pixabay

About Wes Annac:

I’m a twenty-something writer & blogger with an interest in spirituality, love, awareness, activism, and other crazy stuff. I run Openhearted Rebellion – a blog dedicated to sharing wisdom and encouraging a revolution that begins in the heart.

I also run Canna Words – a blog in which I share some of my research and opinions on cannabis. There, I write about everything from legalization to hemp and the various ways people use the cannabis plant.

I’ve contributed to a few awesome websites that include Waking Times, Wake Up World, Golden Age of Gaia, and The Master Shift. I can be found on Facebook (facebook.com/wesannac, facebook.com/cultureofawareness) and Twitter (twitter.com/Wes_Annac, https://twitter.com/love rebellion)

If you enjoyed this post and want to support my work, consider donating via PayPal to wesremal@yahoo.com.

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