Power of a Word
by Jonathan Long

Only one inescapable word comes to mind when I try and tie down a connection to all my other rampant beliefs in life. All of which are linked to the only word I can think of which describes and governs all my ideas, emotion’s, choices, morals, and beliefs.

I believe this one word has haunted my footsteps through out my life, I think that this was one of the very first words I was taught and has since shaped each angle, perception, experience, idea, and choice with deep effect.

I believe this word has challenged world wide opinion’s, sought to reconstruct dogma’s credibility, has broken down the ignorance that infects child minds, dissolved boundaries of tension and friction which separate, has given courage to teach patience to those willing to be patient, with swift strokes it has carved out fine and delicate beliefs alongside immovable and eternal beliefs, this word has given warmth and comfort to those in need and has always shown caring. This word has made me smile as a smile child and has also made me cry as an adult.

I believe this word has not only helped to create and define the man I grew into, but has in a broader reach engraved and enlarged the scope of a effect on the way the world was shaped through generation after generation of life.

I believe this word has taken as much it has given. I do not know where this word starts or ends; I do not think anyone does.

I also believe that this word has the healing power to mend the heartache of the world through the hands of mankind if given the chance to flourish.

I believe it is a word that can wield pain, heartache and disaster in the hands of malice and envy, hands trapped inside intolerance and learned hate. Ignorant of the cultivation needed to allow this word to blossom into its true self.

I was born with this word, with gentle hearts and hands it was nurtured inside of me, given light and water to thrive on through the compassion of those who cared. I learned to fear the word as it terrorized my young mind as I watched my best friend die of cancer at twelve. I thought I first knew what this word truly meant with the first soft lips of a woman who took my breath away. I hated the word and the world when her lips had left and gone away.

This I believe, only the kind nature of mankind will save it from itself, through nurture and growth inside the soul of this word. I believe this one word can save us all.

I believe LOVE is this word, love has the power to mend broken hearts; love has the power to save and redeem, although love is not always what you want it to be, it is only what it is. Love is the redemption of life and the harrower of heartache but love is also the force that staves of hunger, hate, and misery. Love is thing that cannot be defined in one act or thought, yet it is so large love is encompassed in this single word. In the words of John Lennon I believe that “love is all you need."