What we need?

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need 

*****

They say our love won't pay the rent
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent
I guess that's so, we don't have a plot
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got

*****

Daring to show my age once more, I had to post these two well known songs from the sixties. One of course is the Beatles' "All you need is love." The second is Sonny and Cher's "I've Got You Babe." Both songs leave us with the impression that with love we have everything.  It is a lovely sentiment. But is it true.

Well in one way it is definitely not true. Try not paying your bills for a few months. Then when they threaten to cut off your power or evict you from your apartment try to tell your creditors that all we need is love. Let me know how that works for you. As you know it won't work. Commercial places and service providers demand hard cold cash or plastic as payment. John Lennon and Sonny Bono won't help you there. 

But I think more importantly, these two songs are very true. It is fine to pay off all your bills, have a huge bank account, and have all of the latest gadgets. I would be willing to give up my glamourous life now and travel first class, go to the best concerts, drink the best wine, and live in a fancy mansion. But if I don't have anyone to share that wealth with what is the point. My things and possessions can't give me any comfort. My things don't care if I am happy or not. And next year, there will be new and better things that will put this years things to shame. Without someone to be with, things can bring no joy.

But if you have a loving family or set of friends to enjoy things worth, maybe it is not that bad. And if you are kind enough to share your things with the stranger, the outcast, those in need, well then your wealth and good fortune could be a blessing to others. I am always amazed at those who have had fortunate lives, and then decide to give it to a hospital to fund cardiac or cancer research. Yes these people were born blessed, but they have decided to pass on that blessing to others. This is love at its finest.

Love is an overused word in our vocabulary. We love our jobs, we love our cars, we love our dogs, we love our friends, we love our families, we fall into romantic love one with another. Someone I recently heard spoke wanted us to stop using the word. I think that is wrong. We need to spread love around. Because as we do so it grows. I love wombats for instance. There I have said it. It is not merely empty words. This has led me to protecting the environment, trying to be kinder to nature itself, recycling, reducing, reusing, more. My wombat love is different from my love for my family. But it has changed me. And hopefully has changed the word. Let us continue to live in a world where Love becomes all we need and remember "I've got you babe." Blessings.