“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Over the past few years, I’ve given a lot of thought as to whether people can ever live in unity. With everything going on in the world, is unity even possible? What would need to happen? Could it be achieved through Love?
And what is Love anyway? The definitions and interpretations of Love are positively endless! To me, the verb form of Love, rather than the noun, takes on the truest sense of the word. After all, Love is action, it’s energy! But my favorite definition in these times, and some would say the entire meaning of life, comes from Merriam-Webster’s dictionary description as a noun:
love noun
4 a: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another
To state the obvious, Love is necessary for unity. But why? Many psychologists would say that ultimately, every one of us is looking for Love and acceptance to find meaning in our lives. Without it, we live in fear and rejection. Our identity becomes threatened and we grow hopeless, depressed, and even angry at society. We begin living in fear and self-loathing as we turn to false ways of finding Love, such as through alcohol, gambling, pornography, food, or social media. We feel unsafe, and the insecurity begins to deteriorate relationships. Then we get trapped.
I recently heard a statistic that people who lack Love, companionship, and relationships have a 45% greater risk of dying earlier than those who are active in community. Lack of Love, acceptance, and community impacts the mind, body, and soul.
But what can we do about it? Well, it’s been said that fear is the enemy of Love, but Love can cast out fear. Love is Community, we need each other. Even introverts like myself can find, and give, Love through Community. So, what if we each start doing our part in loving others, through daily acts of love? Starting today, and beginning with people in our midst, here are some small ways we can start taking action right now:
· Listen
· Forgive
· Smile at a stranger
· Hold the door open, literally and figuratively
· Compliment
· Share your gifts, pay it forward
· Say “thank you”
· Be the first to apologize
· Say kind things
· Be patient and merciful
· Look for the beauty in everyone
· If you’re annoyed, choose to rise above, keep reflecting joy
· Be grateful that you’re not them, empathize with the “trapped”
When we give Love, we receive Love, it comes back to us full circle. Then it spreads like wildfire! Imagine a world full of Love and respect for one another, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, and political opinions. Imagine a world where we all live in unity! It just might be possible with one small act of Love at a time.
(By D.K)
