Forget Yourself (But Don’t)

Sometimes, I find myself thinking too much of myself. Waaaay too much. And I know, American society will tell you that you are the most important person in the world, but you’re not. Everyone is equally important to God. So why are we so consumed with ourselves?

Hey, guys, it’s me, Daijah, also known as Dai. Welcome to my blog, DaiDreamer. Here I discuss media and both its positive and negative effects on tweenagers– and anyone else who’s interested. If you’re new here, then sit back and carefully read over today’s post.

So, this January is going to be a fresh start for me. I can’t say that I will be doing any video game reviews this year, simply because I’m being even more selective with my media intake. But, on a brighter note, because our family has recently begun watching more movies, I have a lot to say about those.

I take it you’re aiming for a fresh start this year too. There’s a whole bunch of resolutions going around, some about eating healthier, some about reading the Bible more, some about reading more in general– and those are great things, but how about something more attainable? Try this. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Now, let me point out two things about this simple commandment.

1. This verse implies love for yourself; it could easily be flipped to say love yourself as you love your neighbor. Therefore, don’t misinterpret me by thinking that I’m saying “don’t care in the least for yourself”. What I am saying is that we should put others above ourselves unless it is damaging our health in some way, whether it be mental, physical, or spiritual.

2. Love is action, but it is also a feeling. Loving actions shared between people eventually becomes loving feelings. This is applicable to many different loves– brotherly love, also known as agape, romantic love, etc…

So this commandment is profitable to our relationships with both others and ourselves. If we love others as we love ourselves, we are going to have healthy relationships with everyone we know. Here are some simple ways of making sure that you are caring for others the same ways you are caring for yourself or even if you need help caring for yourself the same way you care for others.

1. For every thing you do with one person, like playing outside for half an hour with a sibling, spend half an hour doing something for yourself that you like. It really, really will make you feel good.

2. Make a win-win agreement with a friend to do both something they like and something that you like. For example, if you want to color but your brother wants to play outside, do thirty (or fifteen) minutes of each.

3. Instead of watching the movie you want to watch, agree to watch something that your friend wants to watch (as long as it’s not harming your mental or spiritual health; by that I mean, if it scares you or makes you feel bad) and opt to watch the one you want next movie night.

4. Sometimes, to make others feel good, you have to completely set aside your own feelings. If a friend is feeling angry, lonely, or depressed, do something kind for them, regardless of how much time it takes you. That’s love.

5. Next time someone does something nice for you, do something nice for them. If they say, “I like your hair” go above and beyond and say, “you’re a good friend.” That’s love, too. And it makes you feel so, so good.

Being kind is hard at times. I know that for a fact. Sometimes, I’m grouchy or annoyed, listless or just plain rude. I’m not perfect. But the Bible is. And this commandment is. If we only follow it, life would go from being, “what’s next?” to being “life is good right now.”

Thanks, you guys, for checking out this post. It takes time to read things, and concentration. I am even grateful to those of you who speedread through it. It’s hard to concentrate in this day and age, but I encourage you to just take a deep breath right now and think of one nice thing you can do for somebody in your life. Let doing things for others become part of your daily routine. Be spontaneous– that’s the spice of life.

If you’re interested in seeing more posts like this and about media of just about all kinds, then subscribe from my Home page. If you’re already subscribed, then get ready for a year of fun! If you are interested in my book preferences, then check me out on Goodreads and on Pinterest, where I recently created some new boards about vegan cooking and baking, to join my older ones about traditional baking, cute puppy pictures, and following God.

Have a great day!

‘K, bye!