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ON MEANING, LOVE & WORLD PEACE
By Michael A. Ricciardi

On Meaning, Love & World Peace 0 M. Ricciardi

 What is the meaning of life?

To ask this question is to invite speculation as to the

ultimate purpose of Creation, and thus do we invent gods and
religions to explain what cannot be explained, and to minimize our
fear or anxiety concerning this mystery, this unknown.

It is more practical to ask: What is the meaning of my life?

Upon reflection, we find that the 'meaningfulness' of our
individual lives is somehow linked to the real relationships that
exist within them, between them. The question of 'the meaning of
life', or the meaning of MY life, then, is one of relational
being. So, by reflecting upon our relations to others, and to the
world, and considering the value/purpose/function of these
relationships, we can arrive at an understanding of our life's
meaning.

If the meaning of one's life is still not evident, or

satisfactory, it is wise to ask: What do I wish the meaning of my
life to be? Reflecting upon the answer[s] we give to this question
will point us towards the 'meaning' we most desire and need, and
our task then becomes manifesting this meaning through living it.

We are free to change the meaning of our individual lives, but

to do so is to change the relational pattern or structure of our
lives.

WHAT IS LOVE?

Love is an outward-moving force. It cannot be contained within

the one, but must always expand to others, to the many, or it dies
from confinement.

Love is a living force. It gives new life to the living and

second life to the dead, through loving memory.

Love is food for the Mind-Soul. It nourishes us by connecting

us to others, to the world, and keeps us open so that we may
receive its return.

Love is meaningful. Without love, which is to say, without

reciprocal, beneficial, meaningful connection to others, to the
world, the relational nature of our true self (our real being-in-
this-world) is stymied. We consequently lose our sense of Life’s
significance and purpose. For the "meaning" of our lives is
derived from the relationships we have with others, and with the
world, which is to say, the love that we experience.

On Meaning, Love & World Peace 1 M. Ricciardi

 Whenever I feel that Life is 'meaningless', it is because I
cannot sufficiently experience that which is REAL in my life. This
is because I have somehow blocked the natural, expanding and
reciprocally connecting flow of love, which is REAL.

To know the REAL, is to accept the presence of LOVE.

WORLD PEACE, YES....BUT HOW?

The question of how to achieve world peace is best addressed by

asking: What are the obstacles to World Peace? For, when we
reflect upon the obstacles to realizing our goal [assuming that
this IS our genuine goal], we develop a clearer picture of the
challenge.

When we consider the obstacles to world peace, we quickly

realize that such obstacles are many, and that we may very likely
not know or recognize all of them. We may be reluctant to admit an
obstacle to world peace, perhaps because the "obstacle" serves our
purposes on one level of being, while obviously hindering our
ultimate goal on another, more expansive level. Economic activity
is this way. As a society, we may benefit from the collective
wealth or surplus of this society, yet this economic reality may
cause an economic imbalance or inequity in another society, or
several. And those that enjoy surplus tend to create all manner of
justifications for continuing this inequity, even in the face of
warfare, which is often the result of economic disparity or
imbalance, or, of an attempt to create a wealth surplus at the
expense of others.

Many people have sought to create equalizing structures,

systems, and strategies to help achieve peace, but have merely
pushed a greater conflict into the future. Conflict arises because
global peace requires sacrificing concentrations of power, which
is to say, redistributing power in an equitable fashion, such that
power imbalances {and thus deprivation and conflict} are
minimized.

Power equity requires all participants in the global community

to recognize, and agree upon, the sources of power, and thus of
power imbalances.

But who will gladly give up a portion of one's power {the

source of one's status and security} to make others who are less
powerful, more so? Who is willing to give up their personal or

On Meaning, Love & World Peace 2 M. Ricciardi

national 'good' for the greater good of all persons and nations?
Therein lay the essence of the challenge. For unless EVERYONE is
willing to sacrifice power towards its equitable distribution,
then no true “peace” can be had, for power imbalances will remain,
and grow bigger.

World peace is an all-or-nothing gambit. Its possibility is

only as real as our understanding and commitment to power equity.

To give all nations relative equal power means to give all

equal voice to be heard. But this is not enough. We have to
listen. We have to think. And, we have to grow [as a species] to
the point where we finally, irrevocably accept that some must
sacrifice part {or much} of what is good for themselves (their
power), in order that all would benefit. How do we measure the
achievement of this benefit? When all wars cease, when all lives
are valued, when there is no more mass killing or genocidal
slaughter—-in the name of any god, nation, or political cause—-
starting then, and forever afterwards…this will be the measure.

World peace requires a global evolution of our political and

economic understanding, and a personal revolution in our thoughts
and actions.

-- M. Ricciardi

On Meaning, Love & World Peace 3 M. Ricciardi