What is Love? ... Love of Difference ... Dimensions of Love #3

jaredwood (58) in philosophy • 7 years ago (edited)

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Love of difference is love of not-self. This is the love that says, "I love you for you," not, "I love you for how you might be like me."

In our age of self-obsession, love of difference is a tonic that helps us connect to what is beyond us, renewing our sense of mystery and marvel for the ever-arising, ever-changing aspects of the infinite.

We recognize difference through description. The love of precision and accuracy, of seeing distinction and naming it as best one can, is the value with which we honor others from a place of true selflessness. Pluralists dedicate themselves to refining perception and the use of language in order to see clearly and sharply, to take joy in the recognition that honors others for themselves.

As Aristotle said, the more you know, the more you know how little you know. Cultivate your love of difference and you will come to see how little you know-- and how infinitely variable and expansive life is.

What do you think? How do you experience love of difference? What life experiences have led you to the love of difference?

#dimensionsoflove is a place to share different ideas of love, and to revel in others' senses of love. If you feel called to, please share about your own relationship to love and its infinite dimensions and expressions. If you enjoyed this piece, check out number one and number two

~jared

philosophy love community life dimensionsoflove

7 years ago by jaredwood (58)

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jaikumar (35) · 7 years ago

Acknowledged sir. No doubt it is such an informative and worth reading write up. The topic " Love of difference sounds interesting but new to me. I never had any gaze over this before. Love of difference is something which help us to pave our own path to the righteous place. To become a sublime character to the life, one will have to apply the formula of love of differences rather what people do sententiously. I want to know little more about the love of difference. Can you post here any relevant experience of your life concerning "love of differences"

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jaredwood (58) · 7 years ago

Thanks for asking. I am having a hard time coming up with a single defining experience of "love of difference," but I have come to notice in my life that sometimes I will listen to somebody else and think, "I never thought of that," or, "you have a completely different life experience than me." Sometimes, when this happens, I just try to notice and appreciate the differences. A younger me might have tried harder to focus on the shared elements of the story, but now I really appreciate just letting the differences be differences. Does that make sense?

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jaredwood (58) · 7 years ago

Another example, I am a white man from the USA, I grew up in a certain community, and I get treated in a certain way in my country... if I read something written by a black woman (Toni Morrison, June Jordan, Octavia Butler, NK Jemisin are great!), who had a totally different upbringing, and gets treated very differently in the same culture, I can appreciate that her perspective is grounded in an experience that I have not had, that she knows things I do not. Of course we will have similarities, too, but appreciating that she has a wisdom based in parts of her life that are different from mine is the foundation of a respect and love for who-she-is, not how-she relates-to-me.

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maya7 (63) · 7 years ago

Wow! It's a interesting topics. I think love is everything, we are here in steemit only for love. You love someone, so you want to do every thing from him, I think without it the world becomes bitter. Thanks for sharing such a valuable lesson.