What would it be like if we lived in a world where love, not materialism reigned supreme? What would it be like if we lived in a world where kindness and compassion were more important than profit? What would it be like to live in a world where the health of the earth was more important than corporate greed? What would it be like to live in a world where medical care was a right not a privilege, where bodily autonomy was a given for everyone? Imagine a world where systems and laws were based on love.

When Marianne Williamson ran for President in 2020, she talked a lot about the power of love to change the world. She was dismissed by the media, and she became a subject of satirical memes depicting her as out of touch with reality. Evidently fixing the world with love is not a very practical solution in the eyes of the most of the populous.

But what if love is truly the answer? I believe that it begins with self-love. Each of us comes into the world with a lot of baggage – childhood wounds, trauma, shame, regret. Deep down many of us tend to see ourselves as unworthy and un-loveable. When we don’t deal with those shadow parts of ourselves, we project them onto others, judging them through our own lens of pain and suffering. So it becomes easy to point fingers at the shortcomings of others, while ignoring our own.

When we love ourselves, we don’t have to control others. We don’t need to have power over others. Unless another person is causing serious harm, we don’t need to deter them or punish them. When we love ourselves, we can allow others to be who they are, love whom they will, and live their lives without being judged by us. When we love ourselves, we are free to love others. We are free to emanate empathy and compassion because we are giving ourselves that same empathy and compassion.  

It is not always easy to determine the most loving course of action in certain situations, especially when it comes to life and death. Is it more loving to prolong someone’s life because we can, or is it more loving to allow them a dignified death? Do we sacrifice the one to save the many? What about “tough love,” when it comes to helping our children learn and grow? Is it really loving to give them everything they want, or do we draw a line? It is up to us and our evolving consciousness to make the most loving decisions we can even in the most trying of circumstances.  

If each of us determines that every day, in all circumstances we will lead with love, empathy, and compassion, I believe that we have the power to change the world. If I lead with love, I will share a kind word, a smile, a laugh with everyone I meet. I will meet hostility with compassion; I will fill up another’s cup with my own, without worrying about what I am giving away; I will base decisions on what is the most loving thing to do, not on what I will gain; I will let my light shine freely and encourage others to let theirs shine too. I will give love freely and with abandon to humans and non-humans, and to the earth herself.

Certainly love doesn’t seem to be a practical way to change the world. It feels woo-woo and New Ageish. But if each of us walks the earth in love, we can harness the immense power of love to make a difference in someone’s life, one encounter at a time. And that can eventually change the world.

Barbara Garland
May 2023