Choose Love, Not Fear

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”  ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today being the official holiday celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., many are sharing his words of wisdom.  Indeed, his teachings about justice and freedom are as necessary today as they were decades ago. 

Please think about the above quote and ask yourself:  How often do you make a proactive decision that is based in love, rather than fear? 

Many of us react out of fear, often making choices which distance us from others and even from our own dreams.  It's human nature to fear the unknown, the unfamiliar.  Too often we choose to see other people as unfamiliar and thus dangerous or threatening in some way, rather than find a common bond.  We react to others from a place of fear, not love and acceptance.

This fear manifests in an "us" versus "them" mentality.  We see it all around, with various forms of prejudice, inequality and injustice manifesting -- or being perpetuated -- on a regular basis.  There are certain forces in society which benefit from people arguing amongst themselves, seeing one another as the enemy.  Competition has been revered much more than cooperation, as though cooperation is a form of weakness.

Yet something is changing.  Many are awakening to a different way of seeing the world and their place in it.  We are opening our hearts and minds enough to see others in a new light, seeing our common humanity rather than fearing our differences.  We're realizing that cooperating to achieve a better life for more and more people makes much more sense than cutthroat competition which benefits only the few.  

This new way of being in the world enables us to make choices based on love, not fear.  That is where we find our strength.   

With a renewed inner strength, both individually and collectively, we can move toward the dream Dr. King spoke of, and envision and work toward our own dreams as well. 

Today please give some thought to seeing the world anew, with an open mind and open heart.  Try to pause when confronted with a decision, and ask if you're responding out of love and compassion (including for yourself), or fear.

From this new perspective, what does justice look like to you?  What does freedom look like to you?

What are your dreams?

The Wishadoo! Community honors Dr. King today.  We invite you to join us as we gather to manifest our dreams through more compassion, cooperation and authentic community. 

We invite you to choose Love, not fear, in honor of Dr. King ... in honor of yourself.