The Healing Power of Unconditional Love by Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE
Relationships are often challenging, because we so often see things in others that we judge (or are tempted to) or that cause us to feel negatively. It’s especially challenging to unconditionally love and accept people we judge as negative and to have a relationship with them.
in others reflects yourself to you. Now, I really disliked that concept when I first heard it, because I interpreted it to mean whatever quality or characteristic, I didn’t like in others meant I had the same quality or characteristic. Not!
We can try to feel unconditional love for these people, but our judgment creates an inner conflict that blocks it and we end up in a cycle of resistance. So instead trying to make yourself feel unconditional love in the hopes of healing a relationship, just focus on healing yourself. That will help you get you in the flow of unconditional love first. Then, from that state, you can be in relationships with people and not feel so judgmental. If that sounds rather simplistic and trite, consider the often-hidden processes at work. First, it’s helpful to remember that what you see
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What it means is that you have something within you that needs healed and until it does you may react negatively to people with that quality or characteristic. For example, do you know someone whose behavior “pushes your buttons” but other people don’t seem to be affected by them? That’s because you have something unhealed, so your body has created a trigger to point out anytime you have the opportunity to heal it. Did you get that? They aren’t intentionally trying to push your buttons. Or, if they are, it’s because they get something from it, you need healed in that
Summer’s Twilight 2020
