All You Need is Love

I've received more guidance related to my last post. As I am travelling at this time, it has taken me a while to post the expanded version -- in the meantime, I'm finding out how difficult it is to follow the advice I've been given. I guess any new skill needs practice!

'Send love.’ It’s such a simple message -- one that has been around forever. It is the message of every major religion in the world -- from Paganism to Evangelical Christianity. It is the subject of innumerable songs; the Beatles did it well -- two of their songs have been singing through my consciousness all morning long. The message is so pervasive as to be trite, and in this case, trite is oh so true. It is a message that transcends all cultures, all walks of life, all economic classes from the poor and starving to the mega rich. It is the message of the 100%. It is a message that I have always understood but I never got until now, and now that I have it, it has changed the way I see everything. I no longer see my neighbors as shallow sheep of the consumer industry, wreaking unknowing havoc upon generations yet unborn, I see them as beings with great capacity for love. Even the moustache-twirling executives of Monsanto and Exxon are beings with great capacity for love.

I not only see people differently, I now know how to talk to them, even those with very different value systems and interests -- just ask them about the people and pets and things they love. Ask them about the music they love or their favorite time of the year. Ask them about their favorite places in nature, or about the nicest thing anyone ever did for them, or about their favorite teacher or vacation or childhood memory. Ask them about what they most love to do -- and if what they most love to do is shop for shoes, ask them about that. Love does not judge. It is not about changing others -- it is not about changing their minds or opening their eyes, it is about keeping the focus on love, and love does not judge. Bring the focus to love every chance you get, not only in your own internal mind chatter, but in every place and time, in every conversation, in every interaction. It is about that eliciting that special expression -- the sweet smile, the gentle glow -- that one has when talking about the Beloved. Should you find yourself confronted with negativity, in yourself or others, greet it with compassion and look for the Love from which it springs. “I know you must be worried about your grandson. You love him and want the best for him.” “It must be frustrating to work for someone like that. You are so dedicated to doing what’s right for the customer. You must really love what you do.”

We all have the capacity to love but that capacity is rarely fully realized; the ability to send love is something that improves with practice. So send it every chance you get. Send it until it becomes as natural as breathing and as constant as the beating of your heart. Send it to people and plants and the food you eat and the sheets on your bed.

As I made the bed this morning, I sent my love to the cotton plants from which those sheets had been made. As I did that, I realized that not only had the cotton plants contributed to those sheets, but a long list of humans as well -- the farmer who grew and harvested the cotton, the truck driver who took the cotton to the mill to be processed, the mill workers, the factory workers who wove the cotton into sheets, the dyers who printed the sheets with flowers, the workers who packaged the sheets, the truck drivers who drove the sheets to the store, the stockers who put the sheets on the shelf, the cashier who rang up the purchase. Then there were all the machines involved -- machines designed and made by man -- and all the fossil fuels expended -- fossil fuels created through a partnership of Mother Earth and Father Sun. In sending my love, I caught a brief glimpse of the miracles that surround us disguised as humble sheets and other everyday objects. Love, it seems, is not only for the beneficiary -- it is the gateway to joy and a course in miracles.

When I finally realized the impact of this message and its corollary -- that by bringing more awareness of love into the world, we change everything, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. And then I realized that the guidance I received is being sent to every soul upon this planet -- the secret of 2012 is that this is the year when Love lifts us all to the next level and we begin to heal. It is not my task to spread the word; it is my task to send Love.

Here is to all of us, human and otherwise, who inhabit Mother Gaia; here’s to humble sheets, to everyday objects, to joy and miracles, and to Love.