On the heels of Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorial events, with major world leaders posturing alarmingly, I watched “Arrival” today at a friend’s suggestion. It’s an amazing film, and very timely. Without giving too many spoilers, it’s an alien invasion, and the key to humanity’s survival is finding a common language. This got me thinking even more about the state of our world.
It feels really dire, scary, and yet, if I didn’t have TV or the internet, I’d be more or less oblivious. Yes, what’s going on is very real, but so are the flowers and bees in my garden. And what’s also real is this deeply felt sense of knowing, which I have always possessed, that all we need is love, because love is all we are.
LOVE is our common language. The problem is that “love” is just a word, one that has as many shades of meaning as people on the planet. It’s a noun, it’s a verb, and we adjectivize it too. We toss it around a lot. I certainly do when I feel enthusiastic about almost anything! I don’t mean to be simplistic when I say all we need is love. The nitty-gritty “how-to” of creating world peace may be very complicated, but it will flow out of one very simple thing.
I am talking about the very energy we are made of, the essense of all creation. I could say “God” or “spirit” but these words are also inexact, highly-charged, and can be misinterpreted. “Universal energy” comes close. But there really is no exact word because I don’t think it’s possible to put something so outside the confines of language into words.
Love is not an emotion or an action or a concept. But we can have feelings and actions and thoughts that are manifestations of love. The DOING comes out of the BEING. I know I am an idealist, but I truly believe that if we can all live from this place, then what emerges naturally will be the energy and feelings and ideas and actions that create peace. It’s possible. But I must admit that it may not be likely. There are those on Earth who for some reason lack the ability or awareness or interest or will to love. I won’t give up hope, though.
I must also admit that when I speak with conviction I run the risk of sounding like a zealot. Zealots think they’re right, and are convinced that the things they do are for the good of all, which isn’t true—as far as we know. So no matter how much I think or feel that I’ve tapped into the Ultimate Truth, I also know it’s not necessarily the case. I guess that’s where faith comes in. I must simply live according to what I believe to be true, and get on with it.
I am human, so I don’t always act lovingly. I get annoyed when I have to wait in line, and disappointed when a friend cancels a long-awaited date. I have fun complaining about the things that irk me. I sometimes forget how much there is to be grateful for. I get caught up in my selfish little picture, forgetting about the big picture. Such is the nature of daily life. But I consider it an honour and responsibility, every day, to be a conduit for love. And to do this, I just have to remember how I live in my dreams. Not dreams as in “aspirations” but as in the movies I see when I’m asleep. I think I’ve mentioned this before.
At night, on the rare occasions when I am threatened by monsters, by disaster, or by evil of some kind, my response is almost always love, although it takes a few seconds or longer to get there. But in my moment of realization, doom instantly dissolves and I am wrapped in the warmest, safest, most blissful, colourful blanket of peace you can imagine.
We make peace when we choose love!
SEE with a WHY 