Ripples in Time

What if everyone in the world, every single one of us - all seven billion of us - on the Earth stopped whatever we are doing at this very moment - took a deep breath and said, "I am Love"; what if that happened?  What if every soldier, every prime minister, every child, every businessman, every mother, every teacher, every rabbi, every imam, priest, yogi, every rich man, every poor woman - what if everyone said, "I am Love," all in unison, all around the world, right now?

Then, what if everyone looked at the person next to them, and said to that person, "You are love, too."  and then, they would realize that I and you, we, are all love.  In that one moment, or maybe two moments, the whole world would know the truth, finally.

Why doesn't everyone know that they are made of love, for love, to love and in that love is the most wonderful, creative, adventure, and it is why we're all here.  There are universes upon universes in the eyes of your neighbor.  Your shadow self is in the eyes of your enemy.  Who you really think you are is all around you in your life right now.  The terrible economic crisis that's slowly debilitating Europe and soon to come to a town near you, is symptomatic of our global spiritual impoverishment.  There's no use pointing fingers at Enron, or Wall Street, or the U.S. government, or even multi-national corporations who are indeed sucking the planet dry, it's too late for all that.

It's time now - right now - to put down your newspaper - and pick up the phone and call someone, anyone, and tell them in whatever why you can that you love them.  In that single gesture, you are acknowledging that you are love because you do, act out, of your own nature.  If you rob someone, it's because you think you are poor, and you are - you are poor in self love and the knowledge that you have the power in you to attract everything you need.  If you give to someone, it's because you think you have more than enough and you have the faith in your ability to attract more, even more than the amount you gave.  You see?

So, right now, say to yourself, preferably out loud, "I am love."  Then, say to the next person you see - even if you don't say it out loud - but say it intentionally and strongly in your mind as you direct it at him, "You are love, too."  In those two moments, you will have sent a message deep into your mind, that will help bring forth who you really are, who that other person really is, who we all really are. It might just come back to you in some unexpected way.  The more love we accept and affirm that we have, the more we will see it out there, projected out on the movie screen of your life.

The problem with the world is that too many people forgot who they are.  They forgot that the person who strikes them, lashes out in anger, or terrorizes them in some way, is acknowledging that they don't have love in them. They have a love deficiency.  The way to treat a love deficiency, is to love.  (However, enabling is not love, and how to treat people in the criminal system is another story, but love needs to be part of their healing.)

There's a story told by Ronald Rolheiser in his book, The Holy Longing, which so beautifully portrays this idea.  I quote: "One day the Buddha, badly overweight, was sitting under a tree.  A young solder, trim and handsome, came along, looked at the Buddha, and said, 'You look like a pig!'  The Buddha replied,  'Well, you look like God!'  'Why would you say that?' asked the rather surprised young soldier. 'Well,' replied the Buddha, 'We see what's inside us.  I think about God all day and when I look out that is what I see.  You, obviously must think about other things'..."

So, right now - deep breath - and say to yourself ....
"I am love," "Soy el amor," "Я - любовь," "أنا أحب," "Jag älskar," "Είμαι αγάπη," "Ako pag-ibig," "Ich bin Liebe," "Je suis l'amour," "Tá mé grá,""אני אוהב," "Ja uwielbiam," " EU sunt iubirea," " Mimi ni upendo," "Yr wyf yn gariad," "Ja sam ljubav," "我爱," " Já jsem láska," "Mwen renmen," "मु३ो प्रेम," " Ég er ást," "IO sono amore," "من عاشق .".....

.... and that doesn't even include all the languages of the Native peoples of the Americas.  At our core, in our hearts, we all want to be loved and to love, everything else is just what we do while we're waiting for love to arrive within us, around us.  But, we can give it a little nudge by first loving ourselves and then allowing that love to spill out into our immediate surroundings and letting it spread out like ripples from a pebble thrown in the lake.  If we all do it, our ripples would all connect.

And, what if we did it every day as often as we remembered? That would be amazing!

Thank you for loving yourself and the whole world.  It's a beautiful place and life is a wonderful adventure - especially when it's spring and we're all in love - with love.


Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing (New York: Doubleday, 1999), pp. 239 - 240.