The Power of Love: A Thought Experiment

I want to try a little thought experiment with you.

Imagine you are lying on a hospital bed. You are not in pain, but you have a few hours to live. The most special people in your life have travelled to be at your bedside. They are each sharing precious memories and moments you spent together.

At this moment, barring time, what would you have more of if you could? Happiness? Peace? A sense of humour?

How would you want people to most remember their time with you? As someone who was kind and thoughtful? As someone who was special to be around? As someone who was humble and loyal?

My answer to both of these questions would be ‘love.’ I would want to feel overwhelming love for those at my bedside, and I would want to be remembered as someone who was characterised by love in how they acted towards others.

So how can we acquire and embody more love? Love is not just a noun; it's a verb – an action. This means we can experience and embody more love simply by doing loving things: making a small donation, baking for someone, holding open a door, biting your tongue, giving a kind word, or sharing a smile.

People often acknowledge that the most special thing in their lives is family. The one thing that makes family so special is the bonds of love that hold us together.

Start with your family. What things can you do towards those people that demonstrate love?

Maybe you don’t have many - or any - people in your life whom you have warm feelings towards. Maybe you feel like you don’t have a ‘family’.

Here’s another thought experiment: What if everyone loved you? What if everyone you crossed paths with in life had warm, kind feelings towards you – the bus driver, the cab driver, the bus passengers, your colleagues, your family members, the barista, the person you bump into on the street, the driver of the car that just cut you off, and the people you live with?

If you believed each of the people you interacted with in your life felt this way towards you - even if their behaviour contradicted this - how would this change how you feel towards them? How often would you smile at strangers? How many more thoughtful conversations would you have with people? How much more patience would you have towards those that might otherwise frustrate you? How drastically would your outlook on life change?

Every person you meet has the capacity to love. Love is a universal language and is the surest way to break down barriers and build enduring relationships. Each time you see another human, whisper to yourself, ‘this person loves me,’ and ‘I love this special person.’ Try it for a single day, and watch how quickly you start to believe it in your heart. Soon it becomes your new reality, and love becomes the motive of everything you do.

Everything that works against love in our lives - our vices, bad habits and native arrogance - can be eclipsed by love as we put it into practice.

You can have as much love in your life as you want.