Elevating the Human Experience

Chapter 13Obstacles to Loving Others and Recognizing Their Worth at Work

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

—Shunryu Suzuki

Similar to the journey to love ourselves and recognize our own self-worth and the journey to love another mirroring back to them their worth, there are many obstacles on the journey to loving people in our communities of work. And no doubt the obstacles will vary depending on personal circumstances as much as the circumstances of your work. The most important thing is to begin to see the obstacles for what they are. Obstacles make it harder to love, raise the stakes of love, and test our ability and fortitude to love, but they do not make the need for love go away. In most cases, the obstacles that we face often mean we need simply to learn how to love more. The obstacles are the way.

Just like in the previous explorations of obstacles that arise to self-love and obstacles that arise in our ability to connect with another, I will share the obstacles to loving others in our communities of work that arise from within the self, arise from another person, and arise from the very systems in which we participate.

Obstacles to Loving Others at Work Arising from Within the Self

Ego, and the need to satisfy what the ego wants, can become the primary obstacle that arises from within that make it so very hard to love others in a way that helps them grow. Ego itself ...