"What the world needs now is love, sweet love...that’s the only thing that there’s just too little of...". These are the opening lines of a great song...
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love...that’s the only thing that there’s just too little of...". These are the opening lines of a great song and it’s true. What the world needs now is love in its broadest sense because when fear, hatred, desire for revenge, intolerance and anger are present – Love is missing. Fear and Love are opposites. Fear is contraction of the heart (not great for physical wellbeing!). With fear, possibilities are fewer and life can feel very narrow and restrictive.
LOVE
Love holds hands with Courage to overcome Fear.
Love is at the core of our being. We don’t have to find it – it is and always has been within us, tucked in the inner recesses of our Being. Sometimes the journey to “re-discover” it, can seem a long one and yet there are moments when we glimpse it totally and may not even recognise it. For example:
- Beautiful images "that lift our spirits"
- The birth of a baby
- Children really laughing
- Strength in adversity
- Being with a loved one at a special moment
- A beautiful starlit sky
- The unconditional generosity of another
- And many more...
Love is not soft and soppy. The love I refer to embraces Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Open-ness, Being Real, Truth, Courage, Authenticity, Joy, Generosity, Laughter, Stillness, Freedom, Clarity, Willingness, Sharing, Compassion, Empathy, Compassion ...and Tolerance.
It is a felt sense – the sense of expansion – when the heart feels full. When love is present, tenderness and strength co-exist. People may be moved to tears by its power but tears can be of joy and relief too. We may feel vulnerable but this is the paradox:
VULNERABILITY IS TRUE STRENGTH.
How can that be? Because when we are vulnerable, we are open, exposed, REAL. We are in the flow of the river of life, not swimming against it. We surrender, we fall into ourselves and within we find the Love that is there – has always been there – the eternally burning light. The light that is. The light that will never go out – no matter how dark life sometimes gets. It is said that the “darkest hour is just before dawn” – many times though, great insights and change come after a “dark night of the soul”.
DRAMA AND TRAUMA
It is as if we create the drama’s and trauma’s in life to challenge us to look within and begin taking us back to that place we know. A time of “re-membering”, “re-joicing”. The parting of the 70,000 veils – to reveal the inner treasure – LOVE. No judgements, no criticisms, no anger, no bitterness, no recriminations. Just Love, all embracing, all encompassing, all knowing, never-ending Love. Love that cradles us like a parent with a new born child. Love that holds us in our pain. Love that sometimes creates the pain so that we may grow. Love that wraps around us like a beautiful cloak.
SELF AWARENESS
As you journey with yourself, get to know yourself better, be kinder to yourself, more open, more generous, tolerant, compassionate with yourself, so you become that way with others. It is a natural evolutionary process. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
Through this process barriers can be broken down, conflict resolved and communication become authentic. Win/Win is possible when Right/Wrong are not part of the equation.
THE SHADOW
Then we point the finger at others, when we label them Bad or Evil...we have missed the point. By focusing outwards on how others seem to be, we don’t look within. We don’t acknowledge the shadow parts of us. The parts that can be spiteful, vengeful, angry, dismissive, shut down, rejecting. We like to think that we would never behave like "they" have behaved. But...there is always a potential killer in us. A mother to protect her child is a classic example.
Often we dress our shadow in a mantle of self-righteousness and self justification. Worse, we just believe that we are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT and all views opposed to ours are WRONG and BAD. Then Love is lost and we are in a contracted place.
INNER PEACE = WORLD PEACE
These are turbulent and frightening times...but as with all adversity it contains the opportunity for us to learn and grow. Take time to look within yourself. "Know Thyself" said the Oracle at Delphi- ancient wisdom that is even more important in our modern world. Change is happening at an incredible rate...let’s make sure that it’s powerful change to create a world that works for everyone.
You can read more about how to do this, in Perry Akasha’s book "How to do life – powerful pointers for powerful living". Packed with practical information, insights and ideas, numerous tips, easy to follow How To’s and Pause Points, this down-to-earth, reader friendly book is essential for anyone who wants to be more effective in their life and relationships.
She is co-founder of The Empowering Partnership which offers a range of powerful, life changing personal development workshops in the UK and overseas aswell as corporate consultancy. She is currently training as an Interfaith Minister and working on her next book "Down to Earth Spirituality"
