Last week we remembered John Lennon’s dream of living in peace and the world living as one. ‘Is it possible?’, you might ask. How can we take care of each other and our planet and respect our many different ways? How can we work together, recover and rebuild through our care for one another?

We can open our heart and connect with our soul, learn to accept what resonates and detach from what doesn’t.

Our mind creates “I”. With our heart, there is no separation – no race, class, gender, religion. There is ‘we’, or ‘Yumi’ as the national anthem here in Vanuatu proclaims.

Most of us tend to look at our world according to how our brain has been wired based on our experiences. We make up stories about what’s happening according to our belief systems, our judgements and fears. Sometimes the stories are quite fantastical! With awareness, we can change our conditioning and go beyond our limiting thoughts, and see that we really are one.

Our heart knows all we need to know. We simply need to quieten our mind and feel our heart. Opening our heart starts with ourselves, then it expands outwards to others, to our community, to the world – being, giving, helping, doing what we can for the good of everyone.