Daily Blog #6
All we need is love.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney alluded to the most powerful force on earth in 1967 with their hit “All You Need Is Love”. Their song resonated with 400 million people worldwide that day and will forever be heard on music streaming channels such as Apple, Spotify and Pandora. For good reason too, the song has great vocals, and a catchy tune that delivers a message that is easy to get behind. It also came out during a movement of world peace which is a wonderful idealistic aspiration. But is it realistic or is love misinterpreted by many? Is love as fuzzy and warm as we think or is there a darkness that comes with it?
When nature is in perfect harmony death and life remain in balance. Many of us say we don’t want war, but the truth is that war rages every day in many forms. If there was no war, moments of peace would not be as precious as they are. There is no “happily ever after” in life, as pessimistic as that sounds. As long as there is another human on the planet there will always be conflicting ideas and motives. Mahatma Ghandi said “be the change you wish to see in the world” and he’s right. But how easy is it to do good all the time? That itself is a fight to not succumb to your emotions and temptations, so does that mean love is war?
A good friend of mine who has contributed a great deal in the field of psychology for 50+ years asked me the question “What is love?” to which I fumbled some answer “it’s a feeling you get when blah blah blah” or something like that. His response was “It’s a great investment of energy and time into something or someone you feel strongly for”. Most of us can agree with his definition. To me his words are what make the Beatles’ hippie anthem so profound, we all need love. Love is the most powerful force. Everything great in the world is a product of love… Great music, great food, achieving excellence, overcoming adversity, our family, our freedom. Even war. Although often mistaken for affection, love can be dark, love can be discipline, love can be death.. Many of us like to perceive it as roses and rainbows but love in its pure form, like nature, can be ugly. It is struggle, it is sacrifice, it is blood, it is pain. True love will only be discovered through hardship. So embrace love, feel love, give love. Love is where you are.