Life used to be simpler.
It used to be . . . simple.
We keep saying that it’s gotten too complicated.
That’s true. It has.
But if that’s what we keep telling ourselves,
it will forever remain a self-fulfilling prophecy.
For as long as we rehearse that
our life is hard,
the way is difficult,
war is inevitable,
races will always fight,
politicians will always lie and get away with it,
banks and corporations will always secretly control and rule,
people will always be selfish,
and evil is unavoidable,
well,
we deserve everything we get
and there is no hope for us whatsoever.
Our future is dire;
our destruction is sure;
our planet is doomed.
Pretty scary, huh?
Since when is fear supposed to rule us?
Why do we continue to let the media feed us
with nothing but fear?
Why do we listen to that stuff?
What is the opposite of fear?
Love.
Not simply romantic love,
but love of life,
of family,
of friends,
of our neighbor,
of complete strangers we run into,
of God.
When you invite gratitude into your life,
and you thank the Great Unknown
that knows all,
that knows us intimately,
that simply . . . knows,
you cannot help but begin to feel the gratitude grow within.
And if you rehearse giving thanks for everything,
you begin to feel better,
to look at life differently,
to have mercy,
to have compassion
on others
and, eventually, yourself.
What would happen if we all treated
ourselves better,
others better,
strangers better?
What if God is bigger than what our religions have all taught?
What if our religions all touched on Truth
but none of them have it completely right?
What if God created us more powerful than we have ever imagined?
What if our thoughts and attitudes truly shape our lives,
our world?
What if God’s plan is to see what we will do?
What if it is our responsibility to take matters into our own hands?
What if the point of all this is to learn to love one another?
What if our survival is dependent upon the Golden Rule?
What if it is up to us to stop expecting the worst?
What if it is up to us to start expecting the best?
What if our personal responsibility is to greatly reduce—
and nearly obliterate—
selfishness,
depression,
resentment,
crime,
cowardice,
avarice,
jealousy,
hatred,
grudges,
greed,
cheating,
war,
and separation?
What if our personal responsibility is to greatly increase—
and forever live by—
gratitude,
love,
respect,
cooperation,
compassion,
assistance,
forgiveness,
fairness,
peace,
and unity?
Does that mean we would never make mistakes?
Never have moments of selfishness?
Be perfect?
No. We’re human.
But being human is not a death sentence
to lives of misery
and ill-treatment
and the gloomy forecast that
“it will always be this way.”
Maybe it has always been that way
because we don’t expect it to get better,
because we’re resigned to the negative
and the worst.
Why don’t we all expect the best
and the most positive of futures?
What if we all did that?
What if we, the human race,
the supposedly most intelligent species on this planet,
actually did something intelligent,
in which we corporately decide to work with one another
and respect one another
and help one another?
What if we really, truly, actually, and concertedly
loved ourselves,
loved one another,
and loved this planet?
Even if you don’t believe in God,
but chose to love everyone and everything around you,
how different would this world become?
What if we put aside greed, selfishness, and hatred
for one month?
What if we did that for one year?
What if we believed in abundance,
the belief that there is plenty of everything to go around,
and responsible stewardship if there isn’t
in order to maintain sustainability?
What if we believed in supporting one another?
What if we all sold goods and services
without trying to extract
more money than we need,
without trying to deceive,
without being selfish,
without disregard for our customers?
What if we sold our products to help the other person,
to make a small profit
without selling our souls in the process?
What if we dealt with each other honestly?
What if we respected each other’s cultures?
What if we stopped trying to take over someone else’s land?
What if we stopped
for one week
and really thought about
why we hate another group of people?
What would happen if we really stopped hating
some other group of people
because of some ancient disagreement?
We’ve all treated each other horribly in the past.
It’s a fact.
Let it remain there: in the past.
“We can’t do that!”
We can’t? Why not?
“Because it’s always been this way!”
So?
Serioulsy, why can’t we change that?
Why can’t we change that expectation?
Why can’t we?
We can do anything we want.
So why don’t we stop being so negative?
Why don’t we pledge to be positive now,
tomorrow,
all week,
all month,
all year,
forever?
Why don’t we?
What’s stopping us?
Seriously, what’s our excuse?
Nature?
Human nature?
Sin?
Culture?
History?
Laziness?
Complacency?
It is time. It is time for a change.
It is long overdue.
If we, as huge populations,
can be swayed to become more and more fearful,
and more and more negative
simply because we listen to
fear and negativity all the time,
so, too, we can do the complete opposite.
We can turn the consensus and change the message
to become more and more loving,
more and more positive,
more and more grateful,
more and more helpful,
and turn our future around.
We must start thinking,
envisioning,
and expecting
the best and brightest
of ourselves,
of each other,
of our future.
Our future is doom and gloom
only if we say and believe it will be.
I don’t believe that’s “the way it is”
or “the way it has to be.”
We’re better than that.
We’re more powerful than that.
I believe that Love
is the greatest power in creation.
I believe we have the ability to
learn and grow in that power.
I believe that God is Love,
that God is everywhere,
that God is in everything
and that God is bigger than a character in a book
who exhibits some of the worse traits of humanity.
We were created in Love
by Love
and we return to Love.
I believe we are here to rediscover what that means.
We are here to learn lessons,
to rise above,
and to evolve
as the human race was meant to evolve.
I believe we have the means to evolve.
I believe great teachers of the past
have shown us the way,
have shown us how
we can become greater than our current condition.
I believe in God. I believe God will help us
if we help ourselves—as individuals and as a world.
I believe God has made us in God’s image,
and that “in the image of God” does not refer
to our body’s form or shape,
but in our spirit and in our power and abilities.
We must stop blaming God for everything
or waiting for God to save us.
We must stop blaming Satan or some evil force
and realize that we do all this to ourselves.
While there may be evil influences,
we must not let evil influence us
and tolerate petty excuses that it’s not our fault.
We have a choice.
We always have a choice.
I believe we came from Spirit
and to Spirit we shall return.
I believe in all those wonderful stories
about the strength, goodness, and tenacity
of the human spirit.
I believe the human spirit is not limited
to simple moments of greatness.
I believe in us.
I believe in the human race.
I believe.
Do you?
It’s up to us.
We can either war against one another,
judge one another,
mistreat one another,
despise and reject one another,
or we can do the exact opposite.
Let us work together to achieve our highest potential
and think outside the selfish, greedy, and limiting box.
Let us realize that we are all connected,
that we are individually great,
and that corporately we are greater.
Let us solve problems for the greater good
and take our place in the universe
as a race of beings
who avert and avoid violence,
who encourage and embrace benevolence.
We must seek the best in ourselves
both individually and corporately.
Together, we can do it.
We can do this.
We can pool our resources and knowledge.
We can do everything for the greater good.
We can to learn how to:
save our planet,
create free energy,
sustain all life,
get along,
create a society of peace and mutual prosperity,
expand our reach,
explore the universe,
exhibit goodness.
We can do this because, when we step back a moment,
we will realize that we are all connected.
We can—and we must—learn that
together
we will all succeed
or together
we will all fail.
We do not have to perish
or bring down our own destruction.
We can rise above.
We can learn to love and respect one another.
We can eschew evil and do good.
We can grow as a race.
We can have peace.