All you need is love

"What the World Needs Now is Love." The 1965 song written by Hal David couldn't be more apt right now. A few minutes of watching the evening news and you will agree! Night after night journalists bring us local and international stories of tragedy, of pain, of heartache.

Sure, occasionally the birth of an African animal at the local zoo will make it in just before the sport to provide us with some light relief. By this time, however, the tissue box is empty, unless we are an avid watcher of the news, and have become desensitised to the heartache.

Along the lines of Hal David, John Lennon similarly wrote, "All You Need is Love" in 1967. John Lennon was a musician, poet, composer, and social activist. Most of all he was a visionary. He ends the song with a clear message "…Love is all you need." A simple but profound message.

In a 1971 interview when asked if the song was propaganda, Lennon is said to have replied, "Sure…I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."

To John Lennon fans, these lyrics sound great, but what do they actually mean? What did visionary Lennon mean?

These words are some of the most profound words ever written.

Take some time for deeper reflection upon them and you will see that love is all you need and that love is everywhere.

You are a Miracle

The very reason every one of us on the planet is alive is an act of love - the sperm's relentless love for the ovum, and in most cases a man's love for a woman. Yet how many of us reflect with awe and gratitude on the immensity of Mother Nature to produce each and every one of us from microscopic cells?

I have thought about it a few times, awkwardly as a child when learning about sex for the first time, inquisitively in biology classes as a teenager, but never with the gratitude I now feel as an adult for this miracle that has resulted in each one of us.

Each and every one of us is a miracle, a blessing. What is the chance of that particular sperm, reaching that particular ovum? Biologists tell us it is about a 1 in 20,000,000 - 500,000,000, depending on the health of the male partner.

How many times have you stopped for a few moments to rejoice in the gift of your own life? That Mother Nature chose you. Reflect upon the wonder, the awe, of your body organs that protect you, nourish you, and energise you. The wonder of your breath automatically programmed to keep you alive. What about the senses engaging you with the world. The brain enabling you to think, feel and act, and enjoy each of these while you do it. I could go on infinitely with the miracle that is you.