All I am

All I am is everything I believe, that is to say, that I entirely believe that all I am is everything. I believe that God and the universe are one, that we are not really separate entities but rather individual manifestations of God experiencing life through continual creation. It is this very reason that we should do more to love one another and seek union and peace. I believe that love can change the world. In fact, I believe it’s the only thing that ever has.

Is it cowardice to love your enemy when they are aiming a rifle at you. Is it cowardice to say, “I forgive you” and welcome the death they offer? Was Jesus a coward when he did just that?

Many have debated these very questions for centuries often justifying their belief in self preservation as protecting themselves or others from suffering. The dilemma comes from realizing that in doing so we only transfer the suffering to others who we consider an enemy for being different from our ethnocentric group. Do you believe that a suicide bomber is evil? Do you think they believe they are? It takes great faith and belief in your justifications to kill yourself in service to others. No matter how warped and awful those justifications are, it cannot erase the fact that the person believed with all their heart that they were doing what God wanted them to do.

This does not anger me. Instead, it saddens me that mankind can be so separated from truth, that which we call God, that one can kill women and children along with themselves in order to pursue the agenda of frightened and prideful leaders who keep safe distances from the fighting.

I received an email that was written by a soldier, a marine, who explained how he was fighting for and risking his life for my freedom to believe in what he labled, “My Peace”.

I responded by saying that no soldier ever laid down their life for “My Peace” or “My Freedom”. Only knowing God and understanding ultimate truth can give freedom. Everyone eventually dies, so no one can protect you from it. Everyone experiences suffering, so again, no one can protect you from it. The only things we can ever be truly “free of” are fear, hatred, and anger. These freedoms can only come from within, from knowing and understanding God, and from loving unconditionally, all manifestations of life.

“Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

~John 15:13

You may ask, “Should I only lay down my life for friends, then?”

The answer is, Yes! All men and women, no matter how angry, fearful, or threatening are friends, regardless of their misunderstanding. If you love your enemy, they are instantly your friend. This means that the ONLY place that you can defeat an enemy is within your own heart and mind.

Change your perspective and you change the world.