To love is not to use
When you use, you think of yourself; when you love, you seek the good of the other.
Affection is sometimes confused with self-interest. You can enjoy the company, the attention, or what someone gives you, without truly asking what good you are doing for them.
Loving requires leaving your own center. Charity is not just feeling affection, but willing the real good of the other, even when it costs or brings no recognition.
The decisive question is simple: what good are you seeking for the other person? When the other ceases to be a means to make yourself feel good, love can become cleaner and more generous.
Key idea
Loving is seeking the good of the other, not taking advantage of them.
Your challenge for this idea
Do something for someone without expecting anything. Neither recognition nor return.
BASED ON
Charity →