Is Love all We Need?

Available for 29 days

Prayer for the Day presented by Steve Taylor. Good morning. 49 years ago this month, in July 1967, the Beatles released their single ‘All You Need is Love.’ They performed the song on the first ever global television broadcast, on a programme called Our World. New satellite technology transmitted the programme to around 30 countries. Devised by the BBC, the idea was for each country to take turns broadcasting live segments, with the stipulation that no politicians or heads of state could appear. It’s inspiring to watch the footage now, with the Beatles – probably the most famous people in the world in 1967 – singing ‘Love, Love, Love’ to the largest television audience ever at that point. But is the song’s message true? Even at the time, some critics dismissed it as naïve. How can love be the answer to war and oppression? Why should we love people who are unpleasant, or who we just don’t get on with? However, one theme of the world’s spiritual traditions is that love isn’t just a feeling that arises between people – it is a transcendent spiritual quality, a universal force or energy, that can be sensed, both inside and outside us. As the Beatles put it in another great song, ‘Across the Universe’, it shines around us like a million suns. It is this unconditional love that arouses the impulse to help strangers. It is why we feel sad or upset when we witness other people’s suffering. This type of love arises from our fundamental interconnection, the fact that at some deep level, we share the same consciousness or spirit. When we experience this unconditional love, we feel a marvellous sense of fulfilment and well-being. We let go or selfishness and bitterness, and radiate benevolence. In that sense, the Beatles were right. Love is all we need. Blessings.