The Rhythm of Life

How do you see the world? What is your perception of the world? The great danger is for us to fall into the trap of believing that the whole world is like the city we live in. The temptation is to fall into the subconscious lethargy of thinking that the whole world is like the street we live on.

Most people think they have got a pretty good grip on reality, a fairly broad view, but sometimes our view of reality can become distorted. How do you perceive the world?

You see…if we reduced the world’s population to one hundred people, proportionally…

Fifty-seven of those one hundred people would be from Asia. Twenty-one would be from Europe, fourteen from North and South America, and eight from Africa.

Fifty-one would be women, and forty-nine would be men.

Sixty-eight of those one hundred people would not be able to read and write.

Six of those one hundred people would own and control more than 50 percent of the world’s wealth. All of those six people would be U.S. citizens. Three of those six people would live on the north shore of Long Island…on the same street.

Thirty would be Christian, seventy would be non-Christian.

One of those one hundred people would be just about to die, one would have been just born, and only one of those one hundred people would have been to college.

How do you perceive the world? Maybe in your world everyone goes to college, but on planet Earth only one out of every one hundred people goes to college.

Fifty percent of American children live separated from their biological fathers.

One-third of the world is dying from lack of bread. One-third of the world is dying from lack of justice. And one-third of the world is dying from overeating.

What is your view of the world? How do you perceive the world?

This is the way I see it. Life comes down to two simple realities. People were made to be loved, and things were made to be used. Your problems, my problems, and indeed all the world’s problems come from our misunderstanding of these two simple principles. You see…we love things and we use people.

It would not be too much to dedicate one’s whole life to the reversal of these simple realities.

Love is our greatest desire—to love and be loved. We know how to love, because we know how we wish to be loved. It is the central precept and principle of every major religion. It is the answer to every question. It is the solution to every problem.

The answer is never to love less. The answer is always to love more.

The question is, “What do we love?”

You can choose not to love the right things, but you cannot choose not to love. We all love—we cannot help but love, for that is what we were created for. Love is what gives meaning to our lives. Love is the direction of our lives. What you love and what captivates your imagination determines how you live your life. Love is our greatest desire, our greatest need, our greatest talent, and our greatest yearning. Love is our identity. Until we love, we never truly know who we are. Love is natural, original, and spontaneous. Love is power.

If you could only love enough, you could be the most powerful person in the world.

We hold back that infinite power to love because when it is released—although it achieves all the good in the world—it also makes us vulnerable and ushers in the possibility of suffering. We waste opportunities to love.

To love deeply, you must let go of those illusions of perfection, that pretense of being completely in control, and open yourself to that mysterious gift, pleasure, power, and grace we call love. That surrender and openness creates a radical vulnerability. Love is to step beyond the comfort zone.

My mother has always enjoyed her garden, but she particularly loves growing orchids. Mum has grown them in our backyard ever since I was a child. When my brothers and I were younger, we used to play a lot of soccer and cricket in the backyard. One of us was always crawling toward the kitchen to confess the accidental assassination of one of Mum’s orchids.

I overheard a conversation one night between my mother and father. My mother was venting that we were killing all her orchids. My father listened, and a little time passed before he said calmly, “Well, one day they won’t be here to play in the yard and break the orchids. When that day comes we will wish they were, so let’s move the plants.”

The people you love will not always be near you. Love them. Seize the opportunity.

The most wonderful thing about love is that it is highly contagious. Love demands a response. Love determines the response. Love begets love. Here’s a simple example. If you’re walking down the street and you smile at someone coming in the opposite direction, what happens? Usually he smiles back. But in the event he does not smile back, and the next day you see him again and smile again, then what happens? Eventually he smiles back. Love demands a response. Your love sets off a reaction, a ripple effect. Love begets love.

Teilhard de Chardin wrote, “The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”

If you have bought into the modern definition of success—“getting what you want out of life”—you have probably alienated yourself from the most important reality and truth of life. Love is a free gift.

We sacrifice love for so-called progress. We sacrifice love for so-called success. We sacrifice love for so-called more important things—no such things exist.

Tell me what you love and I will tell you who you are. What you fall in love with determines everything.

Our desire to love and be loved never rests. Though we may sleep, our desire to love never does. It is as constant as our very breathing—and as necessary. Our true identity is deeply intertwined with this desire and ability to love.

We cannot live without love. Without love there is no joy, excitement, passion, or satisfaction in life. You cannot live without love for yourself. You cannot live without love for your God. You cannot live without love for your neighbor. You can try, but you will end up bitter and miserable. And that bitterness and misery will kill you in the end. You will appear to be alive, but in truth you will be dying. You cannot live without love.