Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

A meditation on loving your neighbor as yourself begins, quietly, with how you hold your own life. Sit and call to mind three things: something you’re grateful for, something you worked hard to earn or become, and something you love simply because it lights you up. Let each one land fully—no deflection, no minimizing. This is what it means to “ought” to love yourself: not indulgence, but honest recognition. Then, gently, extend that same stance outward. Imagine a neighbor—especially one who unsettles you—and offer them the same generosity: their efforts, their loves, their unseen struggles. Notice where resistance rises, where they mirror parts of you you’d rather avoid. Stay there, soft but steady. Let your self-regard widen into regard for them—not sentimentality, but a disciplined, grounded goodwill aimed at their real good.

Transcript

Let's start with the bell. In this meditation we'll discover how to love our neighbor as ourself and work on that process. Not easy as it may be. Begin by settling down, Slowing down, Quieting, Becoming more still. Letting your thoughts be a little more like molasses. Not rushing, Not hurrying. Taking a moment to set aside the regrets of the past and the worries of the future but to actively address this very moment with its sounds and smells and feelings and sensations. Getting heavy in your seat or lying place, Letting your eyes drift closed, Noticing as you become quieter what you hear more of. When you stop rushing, What comes in? What parts of you get activated or become alerts or do you notice? What perks up? Just letting go. Letting go of the things outside of your control, Anything truly outside of this moment and this body and this breath. Those things aren't here with us. Just being with yourself. Meditation doesn't have to be complicated or obscure. Just giving yourself time. Time to sit, Time to relax, Time to be with yourself and enjoy your own company. Time to notice, Pick up details that you might miss, Slow down, Enjoy quiet and even learn to enjoy a little boredom. It's a busy world. We rarely get to be bored. We're learning more and more about the neurological value of boredom. Just breathing. Deep in, Slow out. Maybe you want to make it audible or you can just listen to your breath. Feel it in your chest. Feel it in your body. Directing it to open up any tight spaces, Any tension. What human made and other natural sounds do you hear? Birds, Dogs, Air conditioners, Cars, Breezes, Leaves. Things inside you like your heartbeat, Your breath, Stomach, Maybe your joints. Giving all of this your attention, Gently scanning and being generous with your awareness. Not grasping. Meditation can be fun. Just tuning in to your world, What you like about yourself, What you know about yourself. Take a moment for gratitude. What's something you're grateful for? A warm shower, The sound of birds, Hot coffee, Good night's sleep, Your health, Material well-being. Anything and everything is fine. Just pause for gratitude. Breathing in deeply, Out slow. Expanding with the inhale, Slowing down with the exhale. Taking care of yourself. What's the thing about you that you are proud of? That is to say something you work on, Put yourself into, And bears fruit. Your job, Reading, Baking, Getting better at a sport, Or a foreign language, Learning about yourself, Learning better to support your spouse or children, Growing, That you can be proud of. Take a moment to love that. Just breathing slowly, Taking your time, Enjoying it. This breath, And then the next. And then love yourself for a passion. Passionate about playing flute, Swinging a baseball bat, Or reading science fiction, Baking. Name something you're passionate about. Do yourself a favor. Love yourself for yourself. Love it. Love yourself for your gratitudes, And your prides, And your passions. Inhaling and exhaling, Deeply and slowly. And we're going to start extending that love to those around us. Neighbors, Literally and figuratively. Those we know, Even those we can't see, Just extending it out to our fellows. What we feel on our best days, At our best, Towards ourself. Can we extend that compassion and love to those around us, And outside of us. Picture the faces of those around you, And send them this kind of love. Whole and wholesome love. Just breathing in that self-love, And exhaling the love of neighbor and other. Drawing love in, And sending love out. Breathing in deeply with that self-love, Even better than you know how to love yourself. And exhaling slowly to love the others, With all of their flaws, And even the flaws that you share, That might drive you extra crazy. Sending out love for their well-being, Their health and welfare. And keep breathing, For us and for them, For you and for me.