LOVE IN WARTIME

One thing an author never knows is what events will accompany the launch of their book. I was in Taos, NM to present on Original Love the day the war with Iran broke out (February 28^th). Jeffrey Mishlove introduced me at that heartwarming event, and later asked me about the war, having the foresight to know that the events of that day would not be resolved anytime soon.

My central life philosophy is centered on love and gratitude––and war is about death and loss. How could I reconcile this difference? I was moved to read two parts of my book in response to his queries: the first one on Love and Loss (linked below). Jeffrey followed up with a question about the presence of hate in the world, and this prompted me to read a piece on forgiveness (also linked below). Ultimately, love and grief are inextricably tied together. Love is what evokes wholeness, and grief is what rips it away. Grief can also take a person deeper into the heart of love if we allow our wound to become merged with our spiritual yearning.

Love and Loss

Forgiveness

With the breakout of the Iranian conflict, I have been giving considerable thought to why humanity remains fascinated with war. All my life, I have never fully understood this. My father taught me a class on world religion when I was twelve years old. We started with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam but did not stop there; we went on to study Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikkhism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Shinto, and many more. While religions have arguably caused more conflicts than they prevented, Jainism is an obvious exception. Studying it made a major impact upon me back then, and I adopted its ethic of non-violence (ahimsa). The last military draft in the United States was in December of 1972; I turned eighteen years old in January of 1973, narrowly escaping the draft. I would not have gone to war in any case. I knew then that I had no desire to kill, not just humans, but any living being. I believe everything has the right to exist. I was intrigued to recently learn that only 1 in 4 soldiers actually fire their rifles in the heat of battle. This is not simply because they fear being killed; it is also apparently because they fear the act of killing.

So what is it about war that makes it attactive to the collective psyche? I turn to the archetypal psychologist James Hillman and one his lesser known works, The Terrible Love of War. I was rereading Hillman this week, trying to grasp how myths, philosophy, and theology combine to create a strange but powerful connection between love and war. Hillman quotes a Frenchwoman from WWII who is philosophically opposed to war, but admits that she never felt so alive while in the midst of the fight. Hillman brings light to the awkward fusion between beauty and violence, terror and love that is reflected in our language. Why do we say someone is “drop dead gorgeous?” Because Venus and Mars, love and war, are intertwined. Remember the film Casablanca when Ingrid Bergman turns to Humphrey Bogart and says, “Why did we pick this time to fall in love?” (in the middle of the brutal war). Could it be that when everything falls apart all around us we are most likely to fall in love? As the ancient origin story told by Empedocles goes, strife is what pulls everything apart; love is what brings it all back together.

We are all affected by war, even those who have no desire to serve. The great teaching of war, according to Hillman, is that we die together, not alone. Dying is not the solitary act it is often portrayed to be. I would add that our dying connects us to Source in a similar way that love does. When we die, we rejoin the whole; we become one with everything. This is why many Southwestern tribes describe death in terms of becoming one of the Cloud People. We merge with the elements; we become one with the origin of all things.

The trilogy of books I wrote (Original Thinking, Original Politics, and Original Love) are all about finding a way back to Origin, a way back to Source. I say in the very first chapter of Original Love that “Humanity is a spark from Creator on a return trip thereto.” I go on to say that “Most of us have to die to realize this. But we can come home while we are still alive.” The reason why I say this is because Origin is not a beginning. It is a Source, an eternal wellspring available to us anytime. It is for this reason that the fourth part of Original Love is all about sacred presence. It is important to be fully present in love. Love is a timeless presence, and therfore always accessible. Love is something that has always been here and always will be here.

I look forward to continuing my conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove this Sunday on a livestream. I would be delighted if as many people as possible attend and interact with me and Jeff. Go to https://newthinkingallowed.org to put it on your calendar.

The URL for this event is https://youtube.com/live/jqwJH8opJlI . You may wish to log in early in order to post your questions right away. We will start the 10-minute countdown clock at 10:50 am (USA Mountain Time). If you log into this URL early, you can set a reminder and will be notified when we go live (but, make sure to have your “notifications” turned on for New Thinking Allowed by clicking on the bell icon.)

Thank you.

Love and blessings to all,

Glenn