As I take my daily walk along the canals of Leiden, here in Holland, I run across this marvelous airstream-like silver streak, “All You Need Is Love.” Sweet, especially for a bitter cold, rainy day. But this got me to thinking about a popular book entitled, “The Four Hour Workweek,” which claims that it’s “easy to live anywhere and join the new rich.” No wonder it’s popular. Because it promises two words that the dopamine receptors in our brain light up to – rich and easy! We all want that, and this reminds me of an American trainer in China who himself has become a millionaire by offering in his book, “Effortless Prosperity.” I don’t see this, I don’t believe this, and I am not buying this.
Back to the love trailer…. I have another drug-like solution for desiring the rich and easy life. Love is all you need. I believe this and live this. Pursue your love, your passion, your joy, and everything becomes easier and naturally abundant. Do what you love and love what you do! Simple, true and lot more fun, creative, and ultimately sustainable.
Walking onwards with a warm and enlivened heart, I reach the train station and buy my International Herald Tribune newspaper and quickly turn to anything David Brooks writes about and on this heartfelt day – in which Obama is re-elected – his column is “The Heart Grows Smarter.” It’s about the Grant Study in which several hundred men were followed for nine decades throughout their lives. The conclusion is that “It was the capacity for intimate relationships that predicted flourishing in all aspect of these men’s lives.” Every piece of research I have followed in writing my book, “Sustainable Life: The New Success” has concluded the same. The number one ingredient for living well and living long is loving friendships.
Quick, easy and rich is not where it’s at. Nor is it smartness or handsomeness or hipness. It’s opening the heart to the vast ocean of emotion and to its natural intelligence.
This reminds me of an issue in America that breaks my heart as I walk on. This is not only is about unconscionable poverty amidst us, students who are debt-imprisoned, and much more… but about the “militarization of America” where our defense budget is half of the entire world’s. It sickens me to know that for every one Bomber plane we build, we could have 30 new schools, or 2 electric power plants , each serving a population of 60,000, or 2 complete hospitals, or 50 miles of new highway; and for every Destroyer ship we get taxed and pay for, we could have new homes for 8,000 people.
Is the path of love? As long as these guys who run the country are about power – which is ultimately fear-driven – we lose our heart and then we are lost. Only our love for one another can set us free, happy, peaceful and prosperous. Let’s move from that dusty old broken-down trailer to this shiny new set of wheels to remobilize America – to Re-America… re-educate, re-structure, re-purpose, re-build, re-love.