In the face of all of the negative news lately, I can hardly stand to log on to my computer or read the headlines.  

I’m a pretty optimistic guy, and an unapologetic lover and dreamer, but it’s all weighing heavily on me. The widespread fear, the political and social extremism, the culture of violence and hatred, the lack of common sense – not to mention this oppressive, crop-shriveling heat – it’s enough to make a dreamer give up.

But, we can’t give up. We’re each too important to the metaphysical mechanism that holds this patch-work puzzle of humanity together. And we’re parents. Parent’s can’t give up! So how do we stay positive for the sake of our families and for the sake of our species?  

When the weight of the world is on the brink of snapping my shoulder blades like chopsticks, there is only one thing that can lift the burden – only one antidote to the fear and negativity. It’s my favorite four-letter word – Love.

As the dust settles on another weapons-fueled tragedy, we’re left to sift through the damage to make some kind of sense out of the senselessness. Even though our kids don’t know what happened, they can pick up on our sadness and anger and stress. They feel it, but they don’t know why.

Around the nation’s water coolers and dinner tables we ask:  How? Why? What could have been done to avoid it? What can we do to prevent it? Endless analysis by arm-chair psychologists and monumental nonsense by weak-willed politicians, but no answers.

In the end, it’s as if we, as a culture, just shrug our collective shoulders in defeat and say, “Oh well, that’s just the price we pay for living in a ‘free’ society. There’s nothing I can do.”

I don’t buy that. And I'm not smart enough to know what the solutions are, but I know we can do better – as parents, as neighbors, as citizens.

As a society we can put our heads and hearts together to agree on common sense policies. Together we can be smarter than any one of us can be. But I think that's the rub...in this country there has been a wholesale rejection of anything that is love based or "society" based, because at the root of society is the notion of being "social" which freaks out a whole segment of the population because that must mean "socialism" -- GASP!!

Living in a society (that is, coexisting socially) requires working for the common good. Instead, we've embraced this lone wolf mentality in our country that prescribes individualism and packing a side arm and blowing away anyone who gets between me and my agenda. The notion of "common good" has been belittled and reduced to a quaint notion espoused only by lovers and dreamers.

Folks, the only way to survival as a species is to shake off our narcissism and redirect our energy into the society and focus on the common good. And the only way to do that is with love.
Some days that’s all we’ve got. And on any day, it’s the absolute best thing that we can offer. It’s always the best option.

Gandhi taught us that by living it. King taught us. And Mother Teresa. And Rosa. And Desmond Tutu.  And The Beatles. And Bob Marley.  And it’s the last thing that Jesus said to his friends during their last meal together. He gave them a one-word mandate – Love! He didn’t say “judge” or “condemn” or “convert” or “go on a crusade.” His challenge was as simple (and as difficult) as it gets – love.

If people spew hatred – shower them with love. If they walk in ignorance – lead them with love. If they raise their fists in anger – turn their hearts with love.

One of my musical heroes, Pete Seeger, has these words inscribed on the face of his banjo, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.” He spreads his love with music.

So, for the sake of our children and for humanity, love first, love often, and love large. If we lead with love, we are destined to do better than we already have.

I’ll leave you with a link to an inspiring song by Michael Franti that I’ve been singing at the end of all my shows this summer. He says, “The more I see, the less I know. But I know one thing – that I love you.” (Say Hey - I love you)