Lorne Gould, 2013 World Healing Event
I'd like to start by quoting three well-known warriors:
"People...are going to do more to promote peace than...governments...People want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
"We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace." - William Gladstone
"In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit." - Napoleon Bonaparte
These men, who were all accomplished soldiers, generals, presidents and prime ministers, had all played a part in confronting their enemies and waging war. And yet, they all eventually expressed views that support our vision of a world culture based on peace and non-violence. That may seem strange at first, but it illustrates the reality that a desire for peace and goodwill towards our fellow humans is a fundamental part of our basic nature.
So, if peace is such a natural part of our identity, why do we humans make war against one another? Why do we experience hatred; why do we fight each other? I have often asked myself these questions, and I'm not sure I have an absolute answer for them, but I do have some ideas to offer.
In order to hate someone or something, you have to view the object of your hatred as separate and unconnected with yourself. But, ultimately, we are all deeply connected with each other. We all come from the same source; we all share the same strengths and weaknesses, the same aspirations and fears. As human beings, we are not only part of the global human community, we also share this planet with myriad numbers of animals and plants, all of which are part of a giant tapestry made out of DNA. Homo sapiens share 60% of their DNA with bananas.
But once the human ego takes charge, the connectedness of all life becomes obscured by the sense that we are all separate beings, profoundly disconnected with everything around us. And in this deeply alienated state, it becomes possible to lose the experience of self-love, because we mistrust the feeling of being loved by others. In order to deeply love others, we must first deeply love ourselves. And once we lose the blissful state of being in love with ourselves and with life itself, it can make us feel so vulnerable that we must seek out power over others in order to erase that extreme feeling of being weak and unloved. And that opens the door to hatred; we can only hate what we don't embrace with love.
So my message to you all is to live your lives in an unrestrained state of love with everyone and everything around you. Use your talents and your relationships to nurture thoughts of love and peace in the hearts and minds of others. You can do this in many ways; by singing, dancing, making music, creating works of art, or simply by experiencing and expressing your love of life and of everyone you share this planet with, as much as you are capable of. Some of our very talented siblings, like John Lennon, are able to create messages of love and peace that stir these sweet sensations within the hearts and minds of billions of people. But each time you share the flame of love with one other person, you are also contributing your flame to the bonfire of global love that will, sooner rather than later, immolate the darkness of hatred everywhere on planet earth.
Peace is our inevitable destiny, because it is such an expression of our true nature as human beings. All we have to do is "give peace a chance"
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