Any religion, philosophy, universe, almost anything that we believe in is centered around love. In Christianity, we are taught to love God, one another, and ourselves, and I think it is a safe bet to say that other religions follow basically that same outline. We can mostly all agree that we are called to love.

It's fairly easy to love those who love us in return. It's easy enough to love people who are "easy to love," but what about the person who we struggle to love sometimes? What about the people who hurt us? What about the "toxic people" in our lives. Let me just stop right there and say, I do not believe there is such thing as toxic people. No human is toxic. There is no such thing as a toxic person.

"She was toxic, so we don't talk anymore." "I just think that the friendship was toxic, so I ended it."

Was this person actual poison? Or did certain beliefs, values, and just overall lifestyles just not fit well together? You don't have to keep every friendship you have for a lifetime. It's totally normal to realize someone in your life maybe isn't the best. But just because something or someone doesn't work out, doesn't mean they are "toxic."

I support breakups. I support moving on from certain friends. And I certainly support leaving abusive situations. But I do not support the idea of "toxic people." Arsenic is toxic. People are not.I understand that there are people who hurt us in small ways and people who hurt us in ways that can literally destroy us. I know people can be mean. Narcissists, sociopaths, gossipers, murderers...they're all real, and they can all hurt us deeply. But the bottom line is they are still human, and they are not toxic.

Yes, there are people and relationships that you will come across that are not good for you. You may come across someone who absolutely makes your skin crawl. You will encounter people that just are not meant to be in your life, and that is okay! But let's stop comparing our brothers and sisters to poison. The person beside you is not toxic. You are not toxic. There is no such thing as a toxic person.