Why do we spend so much time
Thinking about dying
Hurting ourselves
Focusing on pain
Instead of living
Seeking beauty and joy
And focusing on what makes us smile?

Why do we spend so much time
Telling others they are good enough
That they are loved
That they are stronger than they believe
That they are more than what people may say
That they are truly beautiful
Inside and out
Trying to get them to believe they are
Not just to make them feel better
But because they truly are
While we spend so little time
Telling ourselves the same things
Or believing that we, ourselves, are truly beautiful?

Why do we spend so much time
Focusing on those who won’t pay attention
Or those who only give us negative attention
Focusing on those who don’t truly love us
Suffering when they treat us in such ways
And missing them when they are gone
While spending less time
Focusing on those who pay attention
Focusing on those who truly love us
Cherishing the way they treat us
And enjoying the time we have with them?

Why do we spend so much time
Trying to be someone we aren’t
And hating who we are
For anyone who would rather change us
Than to love us as we are
Letting anyone convince us we aren’t good enough
Instead of being who we are
And loving who we are
Knowing we are good enough
No matter who may tell us otherwise
Even if the ones saying so are ourselves?

Why do we spend so much time
Worrying about what others think
Focusing on what others hate about us
And letting what others hate about us
Change the way we should see ourselves
While trying to make the people who don’t care happy
Instead of cherishing what people think
Focusing on what others love about us
Loving ourselves despite who may hate us
Despite what anyone may hate about us
Believing in ourselves
Just as much as we believe in others
Letting the good ways people see us
And what people love about us
Change our focus from self hate
To self love
Despite what anyone
Including ourselves
May hate about us?

Why do we spend so much time
Arguing with people who want us to argue
Hating people who want us to hate
Instead of ignoring those who cannot interact decently
And loving them despite their hatred
Not because of their disrespectful actions
But because they, like us, are still human?

Why do we spend so much time
Saying how we don’t agree
With the way people disrespect
With the way people insult
With the way people try to hurt us
Only to disrespect those who disrespect us
Insulting those who insult us
Hurting those who hurt us
Showing the same disrespects and dishonors
Instead of being the example we want others to be
Despite being treated less than we deserve by anyone?

Why do we spend so much time
Standing together in hatred against those who hate
Instead of standing together in love
Showing them the same love we show each other
Despite their hatred towards us?

Why do we spend so much time
Hating others
Hating ourselves
Disrespecting others
And in doing so, disrespecting ourselves
Instead of loving others as we want to be loved
Loving ourselves as we want others to love us
Loving ourselves as we want others to love themselves
And respecting others
As well as ourselves
The same way we want others to respect us
Even if they do not?

Why do we spend so much time
Judging those who judge us
While saying they have no right to judge
Or trying to stop anyone from speaking freely
While defending our right to speak freely
Condemning them because their words offend us
While justifying ourselves in doing the same?

Why do we spend so much time
Pushing some of those who love us away
All while promoting love
Searching for love
And wondering why we can never find it?

Why do we spend so much time
Opposing such hypocrisy in others
In all the ways that we do
When we are all hypocrites in our own ways?

Why do we spend so much time
Destroying love
Denying love
To ourselves and to others
In all the ways that we do
All the while promoting love
Searching for love
Dreaming of love
Wishing for love?

I wish we knew

I wish we all could see
The true beauty of love

Then maybe we could stop doing these things
To ourselves and to others
Just as we wish others could stop

Maybe we could love ourselves
Just as much as we wish others could love us
Even if they may not

Maybe we could show everyone else
The same love we want them to show us
Even if they do not

Maybe we could respect others
As well as ourselves
The same way we wish others would respect us
Even if they refuse to

Maybe we could be the example
We wish others would be
Even if they won’t

It’s about time we all did