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All poems: copyright by
Nicholas Gordon
Free scrapbook poems
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1. Love is the longing of all life for
being.
2. Love for others is the longing for the being
of others, an emotion without which neither we nor the human species would
survive.
3. Love for others motivates altruistic behavior;
that is, behavior not in the interest of one's own personal survival. Thus
paradoxically one's longing for being can bring one's own being to a premature
end.
4. Love for others is also the basis for moral
behavior. For when all are loved, each has equal dignity and
worth.
5. Love for others is, however, merely an extension
of love for being, upon the strength of which depend all love, all happiness,
and all pleasure.
6. The more love, the more being; the less love,
the less being.
7. Thus those who love only themselves restrict
themselves to one, while those who love only one other restrict themselves
to two. Those who love only their own family, tribe, or nation, excluding
others, are similarly restricted. There can be no true communion, not even
with oneself, without love for all being, or for being itself, or for
God.
Next: The Principles
of Wisdom: Ecstasy
Previous: The Principles of Wisdom:
Harmony
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