Nejoud Al Yagout

Love can slice us open, until we find nothing there: no beliefs, no separation, even no you and me. And, paradoxically, in this nothingness, everything, everyone is welcome.

For as long as we pledge allegiance to a nation, an ideology, a race, a gender,  we are excluding others. And love never excludes, so the only way to choose love is to be love. A love that accepts all. A love that encourages everyone to grow into who or what they were meant to be. A love that allows us to question, to doubt, to believe, to renounce, to profess, to ponder, to thrive. To be, without being spoon-fed.

Sometimes, letting go of all we have learned is the hardest thing to do, but there is no other way around it. Our minds will build up fortresses of defense, claiming that others who share our beliefs are not practicing it the right way, though we inherently know that there is no room for misinterpretation when it comes to love and inclusiveness. We either love everyone or have hearts that are partially closed. And let us admit that we have not found a path that has completely opened our hearts as yet. This will naturally arise when we are willing to evolve. Each and every one of us. As individuals. As unique souls.

Let us look at the news and the wars around us being fought in the name of our beliefs. Let us take a closer look at the antagonism toward those who do not conform and the way we impose our ideals on others. Let us ask ourselves truthfully:

We need to ponder for ourselves and witness the world around us. Or more importantly, let us observe the state of our inner world that continues to hold onto our truth alone at the expense of others. Can our truth sustain everyone? If not, there is something inherently unfair about it. And when life is unfair, when we are unfair to each other, this is when disease is allowed to grow and love is repressed. This is why we are so sick. Sometimes, we do not even know how sick we are because we share the same views with so many others. But as Jiddu Krishnamurti wisely stated: It is no sign of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

And when we realize, when we allow ourselves to face our own perversion, our own sickness, our own darkness, we begin to recover from the collective madness through unconditional love. Love is not conditional on the way we behave, what we wear, who we love, how we worship, what we say and do. This is the beauty of awakening. We give ourselves permission to outgrow what we once perceived was the only truth. And until we know this, we will continue to love others conditionally, and will continue to judge and feel judged. We will continue to kill those we were taught to fear. We will divide the world into us and them and continue to prosecute those who we perceive as threats to our shaky foundations. Is it not time to heal? We can do this. You and me. Together. With our hearts.

Our minds have made a mess of everything, so it is time to let go and welcome nothingness into our lives. The only thing keeping us from liberation is fear, but love is stronger, way stronger, than fear. And love can only guide us when we are open, empty. The time is now. Now.

By Nejoud Al-Yagout

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