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Rethinking the Basics

I've come to realize, after much soul searching, personal confusion, and fear of mortality, that I need to come to some basic conclusions about how I, or anyone, should live his life. Of course, survival is one reason in itself--but why?

God gave us life to love one another.

This is all well and good in theory, but as a day-to-day reason for life, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to apply on a minute-by-minute basis. We end up being polite to strangers on the street whom we meet only in passing. It's easy to smile back at someone who smiles at you. Try it during your next outing, and see how long you can get people to return smiles. It'll lift your spirit, other's spirits, and you don't even have to speak a word. It's an interesting experiment in human behaviour--in any culture or mix of cultures.

I find it most unfortunate, but true, that we inflict the greatest emotional pain on those with whom we live, and love the most. Those with whom we confide our dreams and fears know us beyond our outer shell of persona. When we open ourselves to sharing what's truly important to us as individual creations of life with a unique perspective andf set of experiences, our trust is sometimes returned with the most personally painful vengence. It happens in the heat of passion when our ego gets in front of love. It's not right, but it seems to be our nature.

Everyone has experienced beginning a conversation with someone who's not particularly intellectually available for us at that moment in time.

"What? What the hell!
Leave me alone. I'm busy.
Don't interrupt me when I'm doing paperwork! I don't have time for you now!"

Sometimes it's phrased more nicely, or more crudely. The conversation usually doesn't happen, at least as originally intended. Hopefully, it's not the preface to an arguement. Time doesn't really seem to be on our side, despite the wisdom intended in the Rolling Stones' old song.

It's not instinctual to blow off such unpleasant situations as happenstance, and most of us--especially children--are likely to take the matter as a personal insult, and an affront to one's personal worth.

Eventually, the intellectually minded who are also tough of spirit, figure it out. However, anyone may be hurt or personally offended by friends and family situations of this sort, even when we know the response we received had nothing to do with us.

It's in our nature as feeling human beings to want our worth verified. We all want to be loved, and to be valued by our society. Our lives have become too busy, our minds too overloaded, to practice basic kindness.

When the Beatles sang, "All You Need Is Love," I think they hit the proverbial nail on the head. I'll include the full lyrics of the song at the end of this blog, because there was so much truth about mankind, his ways, and his needs in that song, circa 1967.

Younger people will recognize this tune as the new music for a bank commercial. When I put one and one together in this instance, it seems the meaning has been all switched around. Influenced by society and culture, listeners receive the message that all you need is money/love. But it's not one thing. The message has been rewritten, and the meaning has been changed. Was this done for love, or money? How do we often show our love for each other? Are Christmas Seasons with small budgets less loving? Do children compare love by comparing possessions? Do adults?

Mr. Lennon is undoubtedly rolling over in his grave, accompanied by the writhings of the also deceased Mr. Harrison. Mr. McCartney is presently embroiled in his own love and money dilemma. Ringo is out there somewhere, keeping the beat, and generally living his life under the radar. Somebody, I'm not sure if it's Paul or Michael Jackson, is making royalty money every time the commercial is played. That's business. Has business, by definition, become money which is totally separated from the concept of love?

You can talk about love, you can feel love, but expressing it to everyone you meet in this era of worldwide instant communication seems almost impossible. We have wars over ideas and ideals and resources. Individuals, sometimes banded together in purpose, wage violence on their neighbors in order to provide for themselves what they value as basic needs for life.

The specific needs of individuals throughout the world are determined by where you live, and how wealthy your country is. This has been the status quo for hundreds of years, and techology has not made a great deal of difference in the personal wealfare of all the individuals populating this planet. Some countries have improved living conditions compared to 100 years ago. Too many have little access to the progress created by the great thinkers of mankind. It's a real shame.

The Bible, The Quoran, and any other religious book you prefer to claim as your model for living, tells us basically the same thing. Love one another, and treat others as you, yourself, would like to be treated. It's not that we don't know what to do. However, those who try to live life spreading love are generally considered some level of off-their-rocker, and shuffled off to the sidelines, either to be ignored or lambasted. It's not right, but it seems to me that that's the way it is.

What can you or I do to change this? Add both of us, you and me, really trying, and that makes two people. What can two people do? Smile when you can, to everyone you can, and consider these lyrics:

All You Need Is Love

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy


There's nothing you can make that can't me made
There's no one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy


All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

There's nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need x16

I copied and pasted these lyrics from an Internet site, and feel like I need to listen to the entire song, as some of the lines seemed misplaced from what I remember. The meaning is still the same however.


Is it really so easy?