With so much unrest, anger, violence, negativity, and hate spewing all over our news, social media networks, and the streets, it’s time we ask: Where is the love?
My answer is that it’s in more places than it is not. It’s in the person who holds a door open; the person who offers to pay it forward in the coffee shop; the person who starts a non-profit after a senseless tragedy instead of taking retribution into their own hands; the person who tirelessly works to rescue animals; the person who financially adopts a family in need; the person who stops to help a stranger having car trouble; the person who looks anger in the face and proceeds with kindness; the person who offers just the right words at just the right time; and so on.
Naturally, however, we become more affected emotionally by the negativity that stems from such tragedies as mass shootings, cultural/racial tension, and political corruption. Why do the poor choices of a few people shape our worldview? Because, that emotion feels as big as the world. It breaks out hearts, shakes us to our core, and makes us question humanity. Interestingly though, the power of tragedy can as easily divide us as it can unite us.
Spiritually speaking, sometimes when really bad things happen to really good people, it’s a wake up call. Pay attention. It’s time for something to change. So, what’s the answer?
I am convinced that the change is to love more. That is not to say that I think people should lie down and not stand up to what is unjust. But, it is to say that I believe we have to first and foremost continue to love each other. Division only causes more anger and violence creating a vicious, never ending cycle. You attack me; I attack you.
As the incredible Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only love can do that.”
Unfortunately, we do not live in a world where each person walking this earth believes in this. Some have turned so far away from their origin of God’s love that their hearts are black and blue. Anger and fear ravage their thoughts. And as they get further and further away from knowing, and living with, love, they live on the defense 24/7.
Is it possible to change this on a mass level? Yes. But, first we must start with the individuals. Like any other change, however, they must want to change. We must want to be that change starting with ourselves, one by one. Will you commit to being that change by starting with your own heart?
I find that the best way to do this is to as the old saying goes, “kill them with kindness.” I choose to love you anyway. I choose to be illuminated by love rather than blinded by hate, rage, and fear.
To quote Maya Angelou, “Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.”
I wish I knew the magic answer for how to quickly solve our world’s economic divide, racial tension, religious extremism, and so on. What I do know is that the answer is not in ego or power. It’s not about, “I’m better than you.”
It is about recognizing that you and I are souls that are born from the same source. We are beings of light who all want the same thing: to love and be loved in the freedom to be you and me. It’s time we raise this level of consciousness on a broader level.
This may all sound idealistic, and it is, but it’s also not impossible. There’s a thin line between love and protecting yourself from danger. I get that. I don’t believe in being a wet blanket either; trust me. There’s nothing that bothers me more than when people are unfair or unkind.
What I do believe though is that even after something horrible happens, you have the choice to process it and let it go. You have the choice to do something for the better that doesn’t including attacking your neighbor. You have the choice to see that the majority of the people walking this earth are good people with good intentions. You have the choice to forgive. You have the choice to take action with the purpose of breaking the chain rather than lengthening it.
The cycle of love begins with me. Period.