"What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork."

We are not so different, you and I. Nestled beneath the faint arc of our rib cage is an instrument that we have christened the "heart", its intricate, intimate humming, stringing the seconds, from moment to minute, giving us life.



God must have been sage, when he positioned such a corral, a cage across the vessel of the heart. Perhaps he knew, what we did not know then, that the heart is the eminent weapon there is.



If only we'd hang up our guns, sling aside our anger, cast way our pursuit for power, and arm ourselves with a redeeming heart, with radiating love. If only we'd set aside paperwork, pause amidst deadlines and board meetings. Then we could savor an embrace, delight in a kiss, smile at a stranger.



We could lay strewn across the grass, laden with the fragrance of dew and soil, and watch the majesty of the sun shimmer on the horizon. We could withhold from hurried meals, and store bought favors. We could meditate, and contemplate, before speaking, before forming half-witted judgments. We could see again, see the souls of our offenders, see the power of the weak.



This world does not need regulations and restrictions, any more than we need currency and contracts, any more than we need presidents and princes, any more than we need to believe the world must unquestionably be intricate and involved.



All we need is the softening, strengthening, purity of love. The mending of fractures in relationships, the banding of hearts together.



We're not so different, you and I. We wander daily to forks in the road, where we must elect either the path of love or the path of despite. Love may hurt a little, and love may not come easy, but it will come, if you call it, love can change yourself, and it can change the world...



Title Quote: Pearl Bailey
Photo Credits: Jonathan Leder at www.jonathanleder.com.