If I think of the things that bother me, maybe someone's negative comment, an inconsiderate act, worry, difficulty, family situations, or things going on in our world, it's like adding links to a chain. This chain gets heavier, wraps itself around me, and weighs me down. What if, one by one, I broke the links to that chain by sending out love?

That cruel comment. It doesn't do any good to hold on to that. Whoever said it has issues of his/her own. That person spoke out of his/her own pain and insecurities. What if I acknowledge it for what it's worth - a cruel comment and then pray for that person, sending out love and peace?

The same goes for any inconsiderate act or situation to which I have no control. I can control, however, how I respond. What good does it do to respond with hatred? I'm just adding more hatred to the world - the very thing we don't need. What if, instead, I respond with love? What a difference that will make in my own being, in the situation, and in how I relate to the other people involved.

Instead of letting things or people or comments or situations weigh us down, as if adding links to a chain, let us respond with love.

Take a look at Romans 12:9-21 on mutual love.