I woke up this morning with a smile upon my face, because you were on my mind. I’ve been thinking about how I can help make my community and the world a better place. The only response I keep getting is love. Love is all we need. It is the most powerful weapon anyone can possess. The power of love God has given us is so strong, it can tear down walls, flatten all mountains. It’s easy to stick around when things are fine, I mean, anyone can do that. However, sticking around in the worst of situations validates the truest and strongest expressions of love. I may not have seen it all, but I have seen love change everything, and I will never forget that.

Love is definitely all I need. Many may not agree to this, and it’s because they don’t know what real love is. Yes, I know they may have had their fair share of it at some point in their lives, and it became their source of depression, but then, that’s not the kind of love I’m talking about. The best kind of love is the love Christ shows us when he laid down his life to all mankind, and he loves us, warts and all everyday.

He sees past our failures, weaknesses, disabilities, ingratitude, inability to forgive, hate, injustice to one another, and at the same time calls us his very own. I love the way Lamentations 3:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV) Puts it – ” The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”. Isn’t this amazing?

We need to allow the love of God to flow through our hearts to others everyday. You can never go wrong if you’ve got the love of God in you. We keep leaving him out of the picture, and that’s, why we are in the mess that we are in right now. Very often, I ask myself, “What exactly are we fighting each other for?” We’ve fought one another for so long that we have lost consciousness of what we are even fighting for.

Why do we have hate in our schools, homes, religious centers and organizations? Our prayer houses have become a place of showmanship, where we display our callousness rather than display the love of Christ. Hate has become more valuable than love, and life has become so cheap you could price it on the streets. Where did we miss it and how do we find our way back? I will answer that shortly.

How often do we get to tell the ones we love, how much we love them? When was the last time you said a kind word to a stranger? Have you ever truly forgiven someone, without having to reprimand them every second of their defaults?

I love my family, my country, my friends, fans, clients and advocates. I love my life and my goddaughters. To my haters, the further they hate me, the more I love them. Everyone of these people makes my life meaningful. This is the reality for which I live, and for which I try to improve myself every day. The thought of such perspective brings a smile to my face in the morning, and all through the day. Real love makes people happy. Now, I know there are a few exceptions, but some, if not a few, of the exceptions are responsible for their misery.

How do we find our way back to love?: We must become feasible: Love is realistic. It’s always self- conscious. It’s been useful and consistently productive. When we learn to cultivate love in all our interactions with others and to ourselves, it would help us cut through the distorting effects of aversion and self-indulgence. It would also enable us to make healthy decisions.

Love is a decision. For every time you decide to love someone past their defaults, you create a well-being with your actions. When you notice you’re feeling ill will towards someone, for instance: “someone who accidentally screams beside you when you’re on a call, a bus conductor who gives a bad change, or when your mechanic fails to return your car on time,” decide that you will help this person if they need it. Decide that you won’t see them through the lens of their mistakes. Whatever annoyance they have created for you, decide that if this person trips and falls, you won’t leave them on the floor. If they get stranded, you will offer them assistance. If someone harasses them, you will speak for them.

I always tell people that kindness and love ripples. Their effects are amazing. You lose interest in whatever hate or ill will you have towards them. This little good intention of yours will improve your mood and your day. You will not only feel like a better person, but also realize that you’re a good person.

Love enables us to make healthier decisions: Trust me, it works like magic even when no one is with you. You might ask, “how do I make the healthy decisions in love when I’m so upset?” You won’t always, but the moment you frame your mind, to, always look for the loving thing to do in every sad situation, the problem that got you upset becomes easy to handle and manage. You will come up with a more productive response that makes you, and everyone around you relieved.

As humans, we all have the problem of fear to deal with, especially fear of the unknown. We constantly feel we have to evade, ignore or destroy our problems. Identifying the loving response starts your problem-solving in a totally different place, putting the well-being of the people involved in the East on your compass, instead of feelings of relief or escape. Putting others in your shoes, would also help to avert any thoughts of hate.

Understand that, choosing to love in a hateful world like ours is going to be challenging, intimidating and possibly ridiculous. It may be having a difficult conversation instead of avoiding it. It could be calling someone out for their bad behavior. It might mean saying sorry, let something go, or hold on to something. Whichever you find yourself in, it can be improved with the clear-minded application of love.

Love isn’t just a defense mechanism; it is a way of life. Love is beautiful, its kind, its patient. It doesn’t count the number of wrongs done to it; it bears no grudge; it forgives. It gives room for improvement and makes excuses for others. It believes in others. How beautiful is that? You may not agree with me that love is all we need. If there’s anything greater you think we need than love, please, let us know in the comment box below.

Love you all.

Blessings and Love.

Photos by Nietjuh, Whitneyibeblog