Chapter 6 Chapter 2 The Theory of Love-31

(1) Fraternity All forms of love are based on fraternity.By fraternity I mean a sense of responsibility towards all human beings, caring, respecting and understanding others, that is, a willingness to enhance the life of others.This is also a way of love mentioned in the Bible: love others as yourself.Fraternity is love for all, and its characteristic is that this love is not exclusive.If I am capable of love, I will love those around me.In fraternity there is union with all men, the solidarity and unity of man.Fraternity is based on the recognition that we are all equal.The differences in talent, intellect, and knowledge between people are insignificant compared with the core they all have in common.To understand this common core of people, one must understand people deeply, not just stay on the surface.If I see only the surface of a person, I see mainly the differences that separate me from him.If I get to his essence, I see our commonality, the fact that we are brothers.Such a core-to-core relationship—used to replace the surface-to-surface relationship—is a "center relationship."Seymour Weill once expressed this relationship beautifully: "The same words (that is, a husband saying "I love you" to his wife) can be very ordinary or extraordinary, depending on the nature of these words. It depends on the way. The way of speaking depends on the depth of these words from the heart, not on personal will. When both parties are closely connected, these words will touch the other party's inner depth. So a person who has the ability to distinguish People will be able to hear the weight of these words!”⑾

Fraternity is love between equals.But while we are equal, we are often not quite "equal" in fact, and because we are human, we need help.Today it's me who needs help, tomorrow it might be you.Having this requirement does not mean that one is weak and the other is strong.Weakness is a temporary state, whereas self-reliance, the ability to make your own way, is a universal continuous state. Love for the needy, the poor and the stranger is the basis of fraternity.Loving your own flesh and blood is no surprise.Every animal loves and cares for its offspring.A weak man loves his master, because he lives by him; a child loves his parents, because he needs them.Only when I love people who have nothing to do with my personal interests does my love develop.In the Old Testament, this is illustrated by the fact that the poor are the center of love, not only the poor, of course, but also strangers, widows, orphans, enemies of the nation, Egyptians and Edomites.In developing sympathy for those in need, man begins to develop his fraternity.While loving himself, he also loves those who need help, and loves those weak and frightened lives.Compassion involves an element of knowing and knowing.It is written in the "Old Testament": "Because you know the hearts of strangers, because you have also been strangers in Egypt...so you should also love strangers!"⑿