What The World Needs Now

by

Hossca Harrison

2014

 

How many can reach back into their memories, from 1965, to remember the song written by Hal David, What the World Needs Now is Love?

When I read a statement on the Internet, this song came to mind, “all we need to do is love, and personal and earthly peace will come.” It reminded me of an earlier article I read that same day in the news; “all you need to do is love the Lord, and you are on a fast track to heaven.” The same article also stated we should stone gays, for they are an abomination to God. The word love seems to be a customary commodity these last 5,000 years, regardless of language. Every religion teaches about love. The majority of songwriters and singers sing about love.

Everyone from the ancient Hebrews, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, or the recorded history of Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, Jainism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam have all taught about love. I know there are a few thousand more to mention, but I ran out of breath.

So, love, the hottest commodity around is dead? Oops, perhaps I should ask, is love the hottest commodity around dying? Maybe love is only for enlightened people? Enlightened religions? If love is all you need and you have all these religions for thousands of years teaching it, what in the hell happened? Perhaps I missed something? Perhaps all world governments and religions love each other. Maybe we are experiencing a conspiracy among all the news outlets? Just maybe world peace has popped up like popcorn on a hot skillet? Perhaps we do not know it yet, because the media is tricking us into believing we live in a world of hate? Could it be a white policeman in Ferguson loved the black teen he shot six times? Maybe he was deceived by the news media? Perhaps he did not know he loved Michael Brown?

Maybe, just maybe, “all we need to do is love, and personal and earthly peace will come,” is flawed? Could it be, the teachings on love from the last 5,000 years are totally flawed? Perhaps the teachings are not flawed, but instead, we as humans are flawed because we just don’t get it?

I can already hear the emails warming up. Hossca, you just don’t get it. I experience love every day. Just don’t ask me about my ex-boy/girlfriend, ex-husband, ex-wife, stepchildren, or for God’s sake, don’t ask me about my parents.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love; it’s the only thing there is just too little of, no, not just for some but for everyone.

Some years ago, a New Age minister said, “Perhaps God put us all on earth to learn love, and we cannot leave earth until we accomplish it.” Perhaps that is true, maybe or maybe not. Suppose it is true, oh, what a sense of humor God must-have. How many times can one be killed? Thankfully we live more than once. I certainly feel for some who claim to have lived 500 lifetimes. That must hurt, dying 499 times?

Lord, we don’t need another mountain

There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb

There are oceans and rivers enough to cross

Enough to last until the end of time.

Dionne Warwick, with her beautiful piercing voice, sings it the best, in my opinion.

So what is love all about for human consciousness? People are always talking about it as wars rage throughout our cities and countries; politicians talk about it, religious leaders speak about it. Does love exist for the whole of humanity, or just for like believers? Perhaps the downfall of the teaching of love is not educating on how to love? Maybe the essential education is education on how energy works, how consciousness works.

We live in a world where love has been taught for millenniums, yet we live in a world filled with hate. Something got screwed up along the way. Not just screwed up, but a catastrophic collapse of knowledge, wisdom, and wonder.

The United States was involved in 134 as of 2014 wars, or “armed conflicts” today. Armed conflicts are sanitized words for blood-sucking human killing wars. These wars do not count other countries at war, of which the United States is not involved, or involved surreptitiously.

What brought about a catastrophic collapse of knowledge, wisdom, and wonder? Has the word love changed its definition over the millenniums? Are we caught up in an illusionary picture of love? We have one word for love in English, but perhaps that word is often used for like or nice. Many world languages have different words for love, loving a thing, a person, or concept. But what about unconditional love, that thing, person, or concept you love without conditions. Is unconditional love possible inside or outside of our belief systems?

Years ago, my Chinese teacher taught me about the ancient meaning of unconditional love. When I say ancient, I refer to a time before religion, governments, and the elite.

He stated, “Unconditional love is an unconditional commitment to our own heart, unconditional surrender to our soul, and unconditional limits on our joy.”

So what was the catastrophic collapse of knowledge, wisdom, and wonder? Perhaps it was the gradual belief someone or something else owned our soul, owned our heart, and owned our expression of joy?

Perhaps unconditional love can never be outside of us? Maybe when we place it outside ourselves, we no longer own it? If we no longer own it, who does?

We live in a world at war or a world war. It is easy to see and feel the great injustices in our world, our military complexes, and the corporations who control them, the elite who always seem to get their way. The religions that seek to claim ownership of our soul, the threat of punishment to everlasting hellfire or ex-communication. The list can go on and on, but I will go back to what my teacher told me many years ago, “Unconditional love is an unconditional commitment to our own heart, unconditional surrender to our soul, and unconditional limits on our joy.”

Could it be possible to love humanity if we first had unconditional love and commitment to our own hearts? But, we, as a whole, have a crapload of beliefs to work through to get to that point. How do we get there? Perhaps it is learning how energy works, how consciousness works, how the universe works, who and what God is, and is not? Perhaps obtaining unconditional love is coming to know self and accept self? Maybe we can start by accepting our own bodies and stop modeling ourselves after the Hollywood gods with their bodies? Perhaps setting our own standards for ourselves, not Hollywood, religion, or the elite’s standards? Maybe we can learn to love our bodies, regardless of when others seek to judge them as if they owned them? Perhaps that judgment, from others or us, comes from fear of not following someone else’s agenda?

Love, what’s it all about?

Perhaps I can ask Alfie.

What’s it all about, Alfie?

 I believe in love, Alfie

Without true love, we just exist, Alfie.

Until you find the love you’ve missed

You’re nothing, Alfie.

Go ahead and listen to these two great songs, What the World Needs Now is Love and What’s It All About, Alfie? But first, get a nice cup of caffeinated coffee, or a glass of beautiful wine, or even splurge and get yourself a Grey Goose martini with three olives, straight-up, of course.

Life is short, love, and enjoy.

Special thanks to the late Hal David and Burt Bacharach for such inspiring words.