Why Hate?

"Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet." 
-Maya Angelou

Has hate ever solved a problem for you in your personal life? 
Reflecting on this question, I have to answer no. I can't think of any problem hate has solved for me personally. In fact, I can remember it having the exact opposite reaction. Hate has either enlarged the problem, prolonged it, or allowed the emotional pain to continue for a long time after anything can even be done about it. 

I've heard love is where the answer lies. Love, and compassion, and understanding. 
Why does love tend to be hard to give? Why does love tend to be hard to find?

I spent most of my life very naive. I gave a lot of love to a lot of people who didn't appreciate it. I've been hurt too many times to count, and I can't lie, I ultimately became very bitter. I became very angry and on edge. The majority walk around as predators, just searching for prey. How can you love in a world like that? 

Hating comes out easily. We know what we like, and what we don't like. We know what we believe, and what we don't believe. We understand our own worlds. Then, we are confronted with something different... 

Love doesn't seem so easy for many to express. I believe it is because love has become selfish. Love is easy to give when it is beneficial, as opposed to sacrificial. To top it off, why would you show love for someone you don't understand?  

With this lack of understanding, combined with the choice not to love, there is a self-imposed illusion of separation. Yes, illusion! If there really is a separation, there would be no room or reason to hate to begin with. We all affect each other. We are even affecting others on the other side of the world. (If you don't believe that, I invite you to comment.) 

An essential element that must come from each one of us is self-responsibility. Many may think that they live in a bubble, but fact is, our actions and thoughts have a ripple effect throughout our world. So much suffering is going on all over the world, we each need to acknowledge our part, and what we can do about it. 

Every day carries enough worries of its own. We all have our own struggles and obligations. It takes many of us all we have not to go insane. I experience the same. But just as we all contributed to the madness, we can just as easily contribute to the solution. We do what we can.