A World of Love and Divine Friendship

Every great thing that exists in our world was once a
thought in someone’s mind. Even the chair in which
you sit as you read this article was designed in the
mind of its creator. The imagination is one of the
most powerful tools we possess. When everyone on the
planet engages their imagination, we will have a much
brighter world!

Any time someone sees a problem, it is a stimulus for
the imagination. As a teacher, I sometimes hear
students complain. They don’t like the way they are
tested, they think the questions are too tricky or
hard or not specific. Whenever a student complains, I
ask them what kind of solution they recommend. I ask
what they would like to do to make a difference. It
is quite difficult for some people to imagine a
solution. They can identify a problem, but they
expect someone else to fix it.

This is the situation for some people in our world.
They are afraid of increasing violence. They are
worried about crime or war or poverty. What are the
solutions? How does change come about? It starts
with each person creating a personal vision and living
it. We can live in the world of our dreams as long as
we are willing to imagine and act on what we envision.

I imagine a world in which people believe in the
inherent goodness within each of us. I imagine people
meeting and greeting one another saying (or thinking),
“Namaste, the divinity in me salutes the divinity
within you.”

We each emanate light, a divine spark from our
Creator. Why is it so hard for some people to
recognize the light within themselves or in other
people? Usually it is because they have gotten hurt,
or felt rejected, or misunderstood. Then they become
guarded, putting up walls of emotional protection or
defensiveness.

What would happen if people let down their guard? I
can imagine a world in which people are open to one
another. I imagine a world in which people are loving
and affectionate, sincere and honest. In this world,
people greet each other with warm hugs, genuine
smiles, and rich, full laughter.

This world is not so far away. In fact, this is the
world I live in. I strive to be open and loving, warm
and friendly. When I feel misunderstood, or hurt, or
rejected, I look for the lesson in the experience. I
look for what I can do to change, how I can be more
understanding or compassionate. I have learned to ask
questions of the other person.

Love and friendship is a two-way street. The old
paradigm of communication oftentimes views
interactions with people as a kind of tennis game. If
one person is right, the other is wrong. If one
person is good, the other one is bad. If one person
wins, the other loses. In truth, this paradigm means
that both people lose because they see one another as
adversaries.

In the world I imagine, people recognize that we are
all in this together. We are all brothers and sisters
living in the same world. The more we understand one
another, the better all our lives become.

I propose a new paradigm of communication as a kind of
circle. Different people are standing around the
circumference of the circle. For good communication
to occur, one must view the whole circle from above.
This requires listening to one another. It means that
people want to understand the other person’s
perspective, to see things from other points of view.
The desire to understand another person’s viewpoint,
rather than proving that you are right and they are
wrong, sets up a great dynamic interchange. Every
person involved gets to learn, to grow, to expand, to
become more well rounded.

The kind of world I imagine is one in which all people
communicate in this way. This is a world in which
human relationships are enriching. People become
greater through their interactions with one another.
It is a world of divine friendship. It is a world of
love.