Loving Others

1. Last time, we talked about why it is important to love yourself and how to practice loving yourself. What ideas do you remember about loving yourself?

[Go around the circle and have everyone take a turn answering the questions]

• Some people think loving yourself means trying your best and knowing that it is okay to make a mistake
• Many people believe loving yourself can bring you happiness and joy
• Some people find that when you love yourself, it can make it easier to love others as well
• Loving yourself is a great way to learn how to accept all of the different traits that make you who you are

2. It can be easy to love people who are kind and loving. It is much harder to show love to people who are not very nice. Why do you think is it difficult to show love to people who can be unkind?
[Go around the circle and have everyone take a turn answering the questions]

• It can be hard to show your love for people who are unkind because you don’t always know how they are going to react
• It can sometimes be hard to show love for someone when they are unkind because your feelings have been hurt
• Many people find it can hard to show love for people who are unkind because sometimes when people say hurtful things to us, we can start to believe what they say is true

3. What do you think causes someone to act in a hurtful way?
[Go around the circle and have everyone take a turn answering the questions]

• People who are unkind can often not feel a lot of love for themselves, this can cause them to lash out at others
• Sometimes our negative feelings can bring about hurtful behavior. This can be caused by feeling sick, being tired, or generally having a bad day
• A lot of people believe that those who are unkind are going through something that we may not be able to see or understand

4. There are many reasons behind someone acting in a hurtful way. How do we practice showing love for people who are acting really hard to love?
[Go around the circle and have everyone take a turn answering the questions]

• We can try to understand where mean or hurtful people are coming from, in order to understand why they are not being nice
• Try to befriend the person who is not being nice
• You can ask them thoughtful questions like “Are you okay?” or “Do you need help?”
• We can attempt to let go of our hurt feelings and forgive the people who have been mean or hurtful
• Some people choose to be loving instead of angry when we feel hurt inside

A Chain of Love

Materials Needed:

• Paper (either multicolored or white printing paper)
• Scissors
• Tape or Glue
• Markers or Crayons
• Click here for the Activity Script

Since our Soul Talk today was about how to choose love when people aren’t always nice to us, we are going to make a chain of love and then do some acting.

Part I

First cut and divide your paper into 60 strips and separate into two piles…30 strips in one; and 30 in another.

Once all of the strips have been divided, write “Choose” on the strips in one pile and “Love” on the strips in the second pile. Leave the ends blank.

When all of the strips of paper have been written on, it is time to decorate a few of the strips and then tape or glue the strips together, creating a long chain. Do not attach the two end links

[Feel free to play one of our recommended songs while the kids work on their projects]

Part II

Say: “Now that the chain has been made, we are going to put ourselves in the shoes of a person who is being mean and a group of people who are nice by acting out a scene”

Using the script, assign the role of the mean person to either an adult or a child, the rest of the group will play the roles of the people who choose to love

Have the mean person start reciting their lines and encourage them to put their full emotion behind it. Once they are done, the people who choose love will start chanting their lines while wrapping the chain around the mean person.

Now that we have finished our love chain and skit, it is important for all of us to remember that we have a choice as to how we choose to act or respond in a situation. When we choose to be nice instead of mean or to choose love instead of anger, we are making a choice to spread love and understand one another.

[Invite the group to find a relaxing position, take a mat or towel, if you are working on a hard floor. They may sit or lie down to be comfortable. Speak slightly slower in a soft, soothing tone throughout, pausing briefly between sentences. You may play soft, instrumental music in the background while reading the meditation script]

Welcome to our Meditation Time: The time where we relax and connect to the spirit in and around us. I invite you to sit or lie down and make yourself comfortable. Quietly do that now. [Wait until the group is settled, then read the meditation script] [Optional: Begin music.]

I am going to guide you through our meditation to help you relax. Let’s close our eyes, and let’s start by putting our hands on our bellies, and taking a deep, long breath in. Feel your belly rise as you breathe in – to the count of 1, 2, 3. Then feel your belly fall, as you slowly breathe out – to the count of 1, 2, 3. Now breathe in – 1, 2, 3. And slowly breathe out like a tire losing air – 1, 2, 3. Continue to breathe in and out slowly and steadily. Relax your body into the floor beneath you. Keep breathing.

As we start to think about loving others, let’s take a moment to love ourselves. Let’s feel love and appreciation for our unique selves. [Pause.] As we feel that love as a warmth in our hearts, we are ready to extend that love to our family, our friends, and everyone we meet. [Pause.] We love others when we act and speak with kindness. We love others by doing our best every day to make the world a better place. Who do you know who could use some love? It can be someone near or far, someone you know or that you have not met. Send that person your love right now, by thinking of them and silently saying “I love you.” [Pause.] If that person is someone you know, think of how you can let them know you love them. Will you write them a note, sharing how glad you are that you know them? Will you tell them how grateful you are for their friendship? Maybe you will do something kind for them. Think about something you can do this week. [Pause.] The Power of Love lives in you and it is yours to give.

Now let’s take one more deep breath, and slowly let it out. Now slowly open your eyes and slowly roll to the side and sit up to end our time of meditation.

[Optional: Turn off music] [Optional: Say: Please return your cushion to its starting place]

Closing — Choose One:

Closing Affirmation — Option 1 

Turn to the person to your right, look them in the eye and say “I am happy I could share this time with you and hear about your beliefs.”

 Closing Prayer — Option 2  
The light of god surrounds us
The love of god enfolds us
The power of god protects us
The presence of god watches over us
Wherever we are, god is and all is well!