Recently, someone in a group setting tossed out the question, “Gee, what if the Hokie Pokie really is what it’s all about?” I’ve heard people pose this light-hearted humor question before and it solicited some light chuckling. But then I went off into this deep thought process trying to unpack what the question asks, and that thought process led me to a song from the late 70’s entitled “Love is the Answer” written by Todd Rundgren. Rundgren released it as part of an album. But the version that was a big, chart-topping hit was the cover version released by England Dan & John Ford Coley in 1979. Since then, the song has been released by many other big-name artists mostly under the Christian music genre.
Tony Robbins says, “Your mind goes to what you focus on” and Andy Andrews says, “Whatever you focus upon increases.” Thus was the case when I could not get the song “Love is the Answer” out of my head. While I remembered many of the lyrics, as soon as I had a chance to look them up it only made me think more deeply. This led to me asking myself the question over and over, “What if love really is the answer?” and then attempting to prove that it was true.
The song is built around the words in the repeating chorus “Light of the world, shine on me / Love is the answer. / Shine on us all, set us free / Love is the answer.” Rundgren was clever when he attempted to nail his song title's point home about halfway through when he utilized a series of questions and answers. Here’s what he wrote: "And when you feel afraid / Love one another / When you’ve lost your way / Love one another / And when you’re all alone / Love one another / And when you’re far from home / Love one another / And when you’re down and out / Love one another / And when your hopes run out / Love one another / And when you need a friend / Love one another / And when you’re near the end / Love, we’ve got to love / We’ve got to love one another" Wow! That’s some powerful thinking right there! Is love really the answer to all those questions (and others)? There really isn’t any logical reason that it can’t be.
When I finally get my book published, it lands on the best-seller lists and I’m being interviewed by the big television, radio and podcast networks, maybe “Love is the answer” will be my response to any of the hard questions I might be asked. I can relate that phrase to the primary purpose of why I wrote my book entitled “The Answer Discovery: How to change the world by helping others…and ourselves.” It’d be a great fit, wouldn’t it? But Paul, what about the hungry in the world? Love is the answer. But what about the homeless? Love is the answer. But what about gender, race, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities discrimination? Love is the answer. But what about global warming? Love is the answer. But what about the division that politics has caused? Love is the answer.
Yes, I know this would eventually drive people towards frustration to the point where they’d ask me to describe “why” love is the answer and “how” this statement I keep repeating specifically works. My response would be “Use love is the answer as the foundation for specificity. If you do, the path will become clear as soon as everyone starts working together. Each person on this earth has been given a unique skill set. At the same time, every person on this earth has a very similar notion of what the word 'love' means. Any time there’s a challenge in our society, the disagreement is nearly never about the eventual outcome (people can agree on the final goal), it’s about the path to get to the outcome. When any group gathers to solve a challenge, if they begin with 'Love is the answer' as a foundational starting place, if they’re willing to acknowledge the different skill sets of all at the table, and if they’ll embrace that they all agree on what the final outcome looks like, then this group is about to accomplish something great, something measurable, something profound and something that everyone…every single one of us….will benefit from. Now that is awesome!
So how about you? Isn’t there some part of you that will give the thought process that’s wrapped around the phrase “Love is the answer” a fair shake? Doesn’t your innate curiosity call you to think deeply about the role love can play in our current society? Could it be a foundational part of all the challenges we all face, whether personal or societal? If you’re wondering if your opinion even matters…it does. If you’re wondering if anyone even cares, I care.
Whether I know you or not doesn’t matter because I believe in you. I believe that you matter. I believe that every person on this earth has a story — a story unique to them — and it’s a story we can all learn from if love is at the foundation of our listening.
What if love really is the answer? I believe it is, and I ask you to prove me right. Won’t you at least try? I sure hope so. GiddyUp!
Paul White is a retired Midland businessman who currently has a self-help book in the works. He writes a weekly column for the Daily News.
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April 23, 2022 at 04:05PM
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What if love really is the answer? - Midland Daily News
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