Don’t Forget to Love Yourself

Imagine how different the world would be if Jesus said “Love your neighbor AND yourself” instead of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus never told us to love ourselves, so many people don’t. Actually, most people hate themselves because of this omission—they are their own worst enemy, greatest adversary, and staunchest critic. They will never be good enough for themselves. They are hard on themselves to the point of self-destruction, and their inner world is full of hateful, degrading comments. And then those who say they love themselves are the most nihilistic of them all, refusing to believe any ideology but their own. They confuse self-love with a shadowing of their own reality; they cover up failures with narcissistic claims of blind acceptance and self-infatuation. They don’t really love themselves because they don’t really know themselves. All they know is a lie, and all they love is their ego’s status in the world.

To love yourself means to love yourself. Truly and deeply. To look yourself in the mirror and see your flaws, to stare into the depth of your soul and recognize your shortcomings and then to love yourself anyways. If you don’t learn how to love yourself, how on earth can you love another with the proper attention they deserve? How could you possibly share love with another if you haven’t planted and harvested any love of your own? Why did Jesus miss this?

Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe we have to read in between the lines. Perhaps, even, between two perpendicular lines. Lines with love between them.

Maybe.

A Question about Death (featured on Aubrey Marcus Podcast with Alex Banayan)

A few months ago, Alex Banayan, author of the New York Times’ Best Seller The Third Door, tweeted that him and Aubrey Marcus were gonna do Q&A during their podcast together. Naturally, I was thinking about death a lot that day, so I tweeted them the following question:

Aubrey, you’ve talked a lot about “knowing” what the other side is like because you’ve been there on medicine journeys. This seems to have almost obliterated your fear of death. But fearing death and overcoming that fear seem to be a deep, unifying part of the human experience…

Many believe that having an understanding—and even a fear—of death can ignite a sense of urgency, leading you to live a more fulfilling life. To what extent is fearing death a good thing and and when does it get in the way? Thanks for all you do

@lemmanucci

Well, Alex and Aubrey talked about my question. They introduced me, said my name, and even hyped me up, saying “You know him. You love him. Give it up for Aaron Lemma!” It brought so much joy to my being.

It was a heavy question and it took a while to unpack it—about 50 minutes. This was the longest Aubrey Marcus Podcast to date, and my question helped to fuel that. I am so grateful to Aubrey and Alex for answering my question with such deep insight and wisdom, all while remaining students of this confusing game called life.

This experience reminded me to be curious and ask my questions without fear of judgement or embarrassment. I really gained a lot from this discussion about death and I can’t even imagine how many thousands or millions of others did too. All because I tweeted my genuine curiosity.

Here’s the link to the YooTube video of the podcast: AMP #229. Check out 50:40 and 1:40:20 for my name drop. This window encompasses the entire discussion about death. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If you prefer to listen, check out Aubrey Marcus Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Lifeguard

Nahko & Medicine for the People released a new single today called Lifegaurd. It’s the band’s first released artwork since 2016, so it’s a big deal. Rumors of a new album in the next few months has been circulating, making all Medicine fans very happy.

This song is upbeat and hopeful, all while being a battle cry during tumultuous cultural storms and crashing societal waves. “The world’s about to shift again—we’ll never be the same.” While most songs about cultural awakening make leave you feeling cold and desperate, Nahko’s music always leaves me with a sense of peace and responsibility. Maybe we can make a change in these difficult times. Maybe I can be the one to make the change.

A Lifeguard is somebody who watches out for your safety when you don’t even realize they’re there. On this All Saint’s Day, we remember those who have gone before us and are now alive again, reunited with the divine creator, pure love. These saints above are looking out for us, our daily Lifeguards, making sure we keep our heads above water and sailing in the right direction. We set the course; they make sure we stay on it.

Let’s take a moment to thank our Lifeguards, those alive on earth and those alive in heaven. We’d be mistaken to think we can do this life alone.

God Is

Kanye West’s new album Jesus is King is taking the world by storm. I’ve been on and off the Jesus Music bandwagon since high school, but it’s always been important to me. And some of it slaps. When Kanye’s new album came out, I heard it was about Jesus. Indeed, it is. And it, too, slaps.

Whenever a famous artist outsteps his or her main mode of transmission, people loose their heads. Remember Old Town Road? When something can’t be categorized, people tend to dismiss it at first then eventually come running back.

Some people don’t like Kanye’s preaching, but He’s an artist. This is a masterpiece, whether people see it or not. Gospel and rap? Unthinkable. Imaginative. Powerful.

Thank you, Kanye, for opening our eyes. Let’s praise Jesus for a bit and bring people together.

How to Honor a Glacier

In environmental chemistry today, my professor brought up how the people of Iceland had a funeral for a glacier which melted due to climate change. In class, I voiced my opinion for why having a funeral for dying parts of the earth was a good thing, why personifying nature isn’t woo-woo but might just be necessary to actually make change. Sometime after class, my professor emailed me, saying my perspectives may have swayed her opinions. I replied with a further defense of my stance. Here is that response.

“Here’s a more elaborate perspective on the matter:

As a global society, we wouldn’t be where we are today without science.  That’s quite an understatement.  Speaking rather generally, though science has brought us very far, it’s also managed to almost wholly neglect any spiritual component or connection to the natural world.  We have become separate from nature.  We have been more or less conditioned to see this planet as something we can extract resources from, not someone that’s alive, that has a place at the table.  I believe the scientific community has a lot to learn with respect to the indigenous religions and belief systems of the Americas and other places across the globe.  Maybe it’s time we, as a society, stopped judging native people’s sun dances and conversations with trees and started listening.  I think they were on to something.

If we started treating earth as Mother Earth, maybe people would start worrying about her.  When we worry, we care–then we are moved to action.  I sincerely think we need more than just good science to convert the masses.  We need some reason for everybody to care, something that goes across partisan lines.  I think a funeral for a glacier is a step in the right direction.”

Nothing Matters, Everything Counts

One of the Jesuits on campus, Father Dennis McNally, says this all the time. Nothing Matters. Everything Counts. He’s been saying it for years. I think I’ve just recently begun to know what it means.

Nothing Matters, because God will still love you. No matter what you do or don’t do, you will still come from love and return back to love. God will love you regardless of your shortcomings, failures, or egocentric pursuits.

Everything Counts, because every choice we make either moves us towards God or away from God. When we pass over to the other side, we will get to look back at every moment of our lives. We will recognized how our choices helped us know God better or worse. Everything we do and encounter will count for how much we loved God back.

Nothing Matters. Everything Counts.

Maybe one day this will make sense.

Fallen, Forever

Fallen branches wait to be cleared and you now
drop leaves no longer useful. Every day new old leaves drop
and cover the trail again, reshaping it, untouching it. 
Decaying practicality, now open to opportunity.
Nobody has ever walked on my dead parts before—
you will not be the last. This moment is here but will be gone
soon and forever.

Walk by yourself or with another. 
Walk with a loved one or with an enemy. 
Whether you share visions or disagreements
soon you will be walking side-by-side to the same rhythm, 
left foot, right foot, trip. Not indifference but understanding 
will leave my woods today. Hope for another moment together 
soon and forever.

These seconds are rotting apples, sweet but tender. This day 
is a new beginning for the whole world. I am the world. 
This world is mine to live, celebrate, and ignore. 
Who will be the keeper of my destiny, if not myself? 
I hear the honeybee sing to the doe:
“Today is a good day to die.” 
So it is for me and my kingdom.

Our Sun

Our sun is hot. Because of its hotness, it produces heat that travels to Earth as electromagnetic radiation. This radiation bounces off Earth’s surface and goes back towards the sky. As it travels back up, atmospheric gases trap the heat and Earth is warmed.

There’s a big difference between the sun being hot and the sun producing heat. Because the sun is hot, it produces heat. But the sun does not become hot because it produces heat; therefore, the sun’s hotness is a cause while the sun’s heat is its effect.

Our bodies are typically warmer than our environment. All the heat in our bodies came from heat (or energy) generated by the sun that’s travelled to Earth. Once here, it’s been been stored in the chemical bonds of plants through photosynthesis. When we eat these plants (or animals that ate these plants), we breakdown the chemical energy and use it for various reactions within our bodies. These reactions produce heat, so we produce heat. In this way we hold the power of the sun within us, but we are not the sun. We produce heat like the sun produces heat, but our likeness to the sun doesn’t make us the sun.

Instead, we are extensions of the sun’s rays that have made it to Earth. The warmth you feel while standing is the sun is the same warmth you feel when you touch your skin. This once unbounded, untethered solar energy is now inside you. Though seemingly contained, this energy is still free to change its environment by bonding unlike substances together. This is how bridges are built.

We are not the sun, but we can be like the sun (if we try to be).

Musical Medicine

Last night Camille and I went to experience Nahko and Medicine for the People at Union Transfer. This wasn’t a concert but an an encounter with healing medicine, medicine not just capable of healing the world but ourselves. We’ve been Nahko fans since about May, right when two people very close to me transitioned. Nahko’s musical medicine helped me gain perspective in a challenging time, turning my focus towards love instead of loss.

We were in the front as Nahko & MFTP played their battle cries of peace, unity, and unwavering love for mankind. Together we proclaimed “Aloha” and “Mahalo” so all of Philly could hear us. We were building bridges between races and cultures, between belief systems and waking consciousness. We were encouraged to advocate for our common home and support our brothers and sisters trying to protect it, like the people of Hawaii trying to save the sacred Mauna Kea. Together, we can make a change. Together, we will make a change.

There was one potent moment last night that changed me for good. After a long build up, Nahko was singing, “What a Beautiful Life,” over and over. I raised my hands, closed my eyes, and began to cry. My heart was beating out of my chest and I was filled with God. I felt the full embrace of my body and my soul. I became One with all that is, and I’ve never been happier. I’ve felt this before, but it’s always a fleeting moment. These few experiences are the best moments of my life.

My physiology professor and whoever else says “the heart is just a pump” have clearly never had an experience like this. The heart is what connects our conscious soul and our earthly experience. It’s home to the soul, the dwelling place of our very being. It’s where the Kingdom of God is—right here and within us. Nahko and Medicine for the People helped me remember that again.

To all who made last night so magical and healing, Mahalo. We are in this together. You will be in my heart forever.

Improvise

Tonight in my Perspectives in Leadership class the Improv Team came and lead us through some improv games. We learned how to think differently, how to set people up for success, and how to understand that others probably don’t see situations the way we do. It was an interesting and meaningful tie-in with leadership.

One perspective shared was “life is improv.” This means two things: that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously and that we should allow ourselves to fail. I like this perspective. Being serious is a trap. It sucks the joy out of life. Instead, we should play more and be grateful for our falls, scraped knees, and dirty hands. This world is our playground and we should treat it as such (so long as we clean up after ourselves).

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says: “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And in Luke 17:21, Jesus says: “…nor will they say ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of heaven is in your midst.”

So the kingdom of heaven is in my midst. That means it’s here. And I can’t enter the kingdom unless I become like a child—more open, not so serious, and innocent. This means if I become like a child and play more, I can experience the kingdom of heaven here, now.

Time to stop being so serious.