LOVE, HATE AND AWE

The problem with this world is not about the widespread nature of hate. It is the lack of love. These days in the era of gobalisation, what we feel towards our fellow humans is very much of consequence. Walk out into the street and you see people trying to rule over those around them through hate and fear and the absence of hope. But those who have really succeeded throughout history were those who ruled through love, kindness and hope.

Recently I re-read a novel by Alistair Maclean called 'The Last Frontier'. The story was set in communist Hungary which was ruled through the medium of hate and fear of the iron curtain. Their secret service called the AVO used to pick up people who did not believe in the communist ideology and dispose of them after the usual torture. The principal protagonist of the story was a British secret agent who is in search of a man called Major General Illyurin. This man who had experienced torture of the worst kind throughout his life was hell bent on peace. He headed an organisation which saved innocent people form the clutches of the AVO. He had his share of dangerous people working for him, but he ruled with love and kindness. Seeing how those under him swore by him through thick and thin started me thinking about the power of love. If hate and fear can make people work for you can love and kindness not do the same thing. Love and kindness should bring out better better results from those whom you give a task to. Fear is negative but there is a similar positive feeling it is called awe. The facial expression of those in fear and those in awe are almost the same. But those who fear try to run away from the object of their fear and hate it but those in awe tend to approach the object of their awe and love and respect it. The object of which would you like to be? I prefer awe.

Although awe is more difficult to establish, it draws people closer to you but not too close, and it also yields better results. Awe can be looked apon as a special case of love. Awe could be approximated as being an amalgam of respect and love.

Every human knows what love is but can not say as the languages lack the words to describe it, especially love to a fellow human. But love for that special someone can not be generalised since it is unique to each and every individual couple.