Sometimes, as we practice sending feelings of lovingkindness to others, and ourselves, we may feel that we are not loving enough. Or we expect metta to be an ecstatic feeling that will carry us away on waves of bliss, only then to feel discouraged when we don't feel particularly ecstatic. But lovingkindness can be better understood as the friendly responsiveness to the people around us. More helpful translations of metta might be "good will" or a "kind heart." It is a basic openness of heart that allows the world in. When we look at ourselves and our actions in this way, we may find ourselves more loving than we think.
— Joseph Goldstein, One Dharma