Love – the anti-inflammatory

Someone recently got upset with me because I deleted a political posting they were compelled to share on my Facebook page.

When asked why I was so unpatriotic as to refuse to “share” their message, I simply replied that I didn’t want inflammatory political statements on my page, and I did not want to engage in any political debates.

They tried to argue that my FB friends needed to see “the truth” about some recent legislation.

I had to laugh at this (not to their face of course) because when, ever, has an inflammatory, angry and hateful tone ever changed anyone’s mind about anything?

For myself, I’ll say “never.”

Telling someone they are an idiot because they hold a particular religious or political view says more about the character of the person delivering the message than anything else. I’m not likely to examine the political or religious beliefs of someone who engages with me (or others) in a hateful manner.

I believe that when we choose to engage in a judgmental way, we are only furthering the separation between us and those who believe differently than we do.

Inflammatory accusations cause pain; not just in the person who has to hear the message, but in the person sending the message because they are so invested in being right. When we have to be right above all else, there is something inside of us that feels unaccepted and unloveable.

I recently watched an episode of “Big Bang Theory” where Sheldon was facing his arch-nemesis, Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher in Star Trek – the Next Generation) in a “Mystic Warlords of Ka’a” tournament. Sheldon was there to confront Wheaton over an incident where Wheaton failed to show up at a convention some 15 years earlier. Sheldon’s anger, however, was instantly dissolved when Wheaton informed him he’d missed that convention because his Grandmother had passed away. Sheldon, who loved his own Grandmother very much, empathized with Wheaton because he couldn’t imagine the pain he must have endured.

We have so much more in common than we think. Our political and religious views are so trivial compared with the great capacity for love that is inside each of us. Any of us would hurt (or have hurt) at the loss of a loved one. We’d find it comforting when someone puts their arm around us when we cry. We would all love to know, more than anything, that if we fell apart, there would be that special someone who would be there for us. And if we saw another person suffering, we would feel their pain.

Inflammation in the body is a sign that there has been physical damage, and the body is trying to protect itself. Inflammation in the soul is a sign that there has been emotional damage, and the mind is trying to protect itself.

To heal from the pain and rejection that cause inflammation of the soul, we need an anti-inflammatory.

It’s been said that what we need most, we should give. So if we need acceptance and love, we should give it. If we need compassion and understanding, we should give it.

Condemning another will never bring us a connection with that person, and honestly never make us feel any better, because making someone else “wrong” so we can be right is the sign of a soul in need of love and healing.

It’s love that heals those wounds. Love is the anti-inflammatory!