Love Heals the World
Looks like Michael Jackson is inspiring me tonight. I love this clip. I had this song playing in Bangkok when we were showing our peace education program with the American School of Bangkok. It was apt. We can all make a difference when we step out of the norm and wish to make a difference. It is easy to do. There is no greater immaturity then creating wars with people. The maturity comes from realising that we live in a great diversity and it is not to force others to do what we want but to learn to share with others and accommodate different preferences. What was interesting about studying economics was that the system was designed originally to ensure resources were shared by using a price mechanism that responded to demand and supply. What mirrors peace for me is the response to preferences. Naturally and economically it was to find equilibrium, the idea is that needs were met optimally. Peace is about responding to preferences and meeting in the middle. The difference between these systems is that economics became a chess game seeking to maximise wealth rather than fair distribution (original design) and that moved towards concentrating wealth by those who could use money to further their interests or distort prices (buying up commodities to affect price or internal pricing). Whereas genuine peace is about seeing the other as me and I give to them what I would want for myself.
What I’ve learned from my many years focusing on peace is that it is really about love. It is connection which comes from seeing the beauty of others naturally. Children are the greatest teachers actually as they look upon the world with innocence and they are not hung up on holding grudges or seeking to organise to hurt others, they tend to drop the story pretty quickly and get on. We can learn from these wonderful teachers. Peace is not a problem through those eyes.
We will make it, I know it and am just waiting on the world to decide. I know when I feel peace there is an enormous joy within. I feel it all the time, even when I feel sad just beneath the surface is love. So wonderful to live a life of peace. So many think it is an ideal but in truth it is the foundation to real happiness.
When you meet fear or hatred with love you most definitely heal the world. Only love can heal the problems we perceive within and around the world.
All those acts of love are the peacemaking gestures that truly change the world. Keep on loving no matter how things look, be a force for love and know that ripples are sent out and change is happening. You may not see it but simply know it.
I send you joy and thank Michael Jackson for bringing so much joy to the world through his music. I thank Robin Williams for making so many people laugh. Both were truly sensitive souls and gifts to humanity.