The Art of Being
Dr. King Had the Answer: Stick With Love

Hate is a toxic energy that can wear many different masks, but behind them all dwells the same thing: fear. Have you ever carried the burden of hate?

I have, and I know how hard it is to let it go, especially when it seems to be "justified" because of someone else's act of cruelty, thoughtlessness or selfishness.

Perhaps the fear is founded in a loss we have experienced because of a certain individual or the belief that this person has gotten away with something they've done wrong. Irrespective of how the hate shows up, when we are stuck in our emotional body with intense feelings of hate, we are the ones who suffer the most because we isolate ourselves from life and actually end up holding ourselves a hostage from happiness. Holding hate is like drinking arsenic and hoping the one you hate dies.

Sadder yet is the burden of hate many people are immersed in without even realizing it because their caretakers taught them how to hate as a way of life, even before they could talk.

There is no question this kind of hate is born in the fertile womb of fear, which most often pictures itself as an overinflated sense of superiority, intolerance, bigotry and arrogance. This is sad because it really boils down to a lack of understanding others who may be different from them, and, in general, illinformed people tend to fear what they don't understand.

A lack of understanding commingled with fear becomes a recipe for hate and too often shows up in some form of violence. This is the lesson Martin Luther King Jr. brought to light in an amazing way for America some 40-plus years ago. It was the beginning of a new page in the book of humanity's evolution.

Yet another point of origin for hate is self-hatred- it often comes with the fear of not being enough. This kind of hate originates from a deep feeling of inadequacy or inferiority, which is then projected outward onto a convenient target. The ego would much rather we focus our hate outward than inward.

No matter how we slice it, hate is fear in drag, and it is a huge burden to bear for our entire lives, isn't it? Regardless of how it came about, if hate is a burden we bear today, we owe it to humankind, our friends and family, and most importantly we owe it to ourselves, to heal it.

Why? Because life is not too short- it's too long to live it in a self-imposed bondage and it doesn't serve our soul's purpose very well. We can't express the glorious Being we came here to be while we remain stuck in the energy of fear and hate.

The good news is we don't have to bear hate any longer. We can set ourselves free today. How? Of course Dr. King was right: Stick to love.

Easier said than done? Sure it is. It's much easier to fear than to love because fear seems to be the way of the world up until now.

If it were easy, everyone would be at peace with themselves and others, and that's not the case yet- - but it's not impossible. If we feel the burden of hate weighing heavy upon our heart, we can invite that place within us where God's presence dwells to take over. Just remember, God in Its highest form is Love. Give your hate/ fear up to God and watch it dissolve.

Hate exists in the darkness of duality and a sense of separation from the Light. Just as darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, fear cannot maintain its existence in the presence of love. Stick with love and be burden-free.

A wise man, this Martin Luther King Jr.

Dennis Merritt Jones is the spiritual director for OneSpirit Center for Conscious Living in Simi Valley. His website is www.OneSpirit.org.