The World Needs Love
Overcoming Societal Ills By Fostering Greater Love
Jul 18, 2009 Amina Cisse Muhammad
So, exactly what is the power of love?
Song after song exalting the power of love has been written; religious leaders, humanitarians and philosophers have extolled its virtues. However, one is hard-pressed to find more than a handful of noteworthy studies on the subject.
Dean Ornish, medical doctor and author of several best-selling books, was one of the first to write about the benefits of love from a scientific perspective. In Love and Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy, heargues that the physical, emotional and spiritual survival of humans depends on the healing power of love, intimacy and relationships.
Ornish says, "Love and intimacy are at a root of what makes us sick and what makes us well, what causes sadness and what brings happiness, what makes us suffer and what leads to healing.” He calls the illness, cynicism and violence found in society an "emotional and spiritual heart disease" of epidemic proportions, and attributes them to the breakdown of the social structures that once provided a sense of connection and community.
In The Paradise Paradigm: On Creating a World of Compassion, Freedom, and Prosperity, author Glen Allport also discusses what he believes is insanity in today’s world: the war, genocide, greed and other human cruelties that are so prevalent across the globe. He too, believes that love (and freedom for all) is the cure.
Love inspires so many other positive emotions and actions – happiness, joy, security, self-worthiness, trust, kindness, sensitivity, empathy, and charity. And more love does diminish the world’s hate, hostility, prejudice, resentment, greed, oppression and exploitation, selfishness, conflict and poverty.
But Is Love Really All the World Needs?
The question has been raised, “If love is all it takes, why haven’t the various humanitarian efforts – presumably inspired by love and compassion – solved the world’s ills by now?”
Allport’s response, in a nutshell, is that these attempts (well-meaning though they may be) typically only address the symptoms of the world’s problems; the root is actually society’s failure to guarantee the provision of all basic needs — emotional as well as physical — for all human beings at their onset, when an individual is born. In his online article, “Shield and Strength: The Power of Love, Part 2” he emphasizes the power of early love:
“Early love and connection, including natural childbirth followed by strong family bonds throughout childhood and into later life, have long been the saving grace of downtrodden minorities – the shield and strength allowing them to survive and sometimes thrive despite prejudice, economic discrimination, and other cruelty by those in power.”
Unfortunately, the need for loving care often pales when it is considered alongside other needs like food and shelter.
The Importance of Self-Love
The question can be raised, "Can people learn to love others before loving self?"
Any meaningful discussion on the need for more love in the world should also address the need of most people for greater self-love and self-acceptance – necessary components for peaceful co-existence in any society.
Psychologists, therapists and spiritual guides alike regard self-love as a crucial aspect of self-esteem and one's ability to love others. Many experts consider low self-esteem as a rampant problem today. Some even tie it to all other problems (relationships, health, money and work) that humans suffer. In her online article "Your Esteemed Self," Suma Varughese reports that psychotherapist Nathaniel Branden has described inadequate self-esteem as the one common denominator in all neurotic problems.
You Can Be an Agent for Fostering Love in the World
In the words of songwriter Hal David, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of."
And artist Stevie Wonder has this to say,“Love’s in need of love today. Don’t delay… send yours in right away. Hate’s goin’ round breaking many hearts. Stop it, please, before it’s gone too far.”
You can "send your love in to love" by telling as many people, including yourself, that you love them within the next twenty-four hours (or longer, if you'd like). Be sure to make a note of any miracles that happen.
Sources:
- Ornish, Dean. Love and Survival: The Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy, 1998. Pp. 3; 12-13.
- Allport, Glen. The Paradise Paradigm: On Creating a World of Compassion, Freedom, and Prosperity, 2006.
- Allport, Glen. “Shield and Strength: The Power of Love, Part 2”, worldwide web, September 2008.
- David, Hal. What the World Needs Now, 1965.
- Wonder, Stevie. Love's in Need of Love Today, 1976.
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