If The Only Love Project is to work, it will be because each individual engages it in his or her own community — as he or she best understands and can apply it. There is no “right” way to do this.  There is only your way, in your community, the way you believe it can be accomplished.

The Only Love Project is an interfaith, non-denominational, all-are-welcome bunch of people from all walks of life whose only point of connection is love — for ourselves, for each other, and for our communities.

Why our communities? Because we are only responsible for ourselves, and those within our circle of influence. That means ourselves, our families, our communities. We may not be able to make someone smile in a war-torn country (unless we live there). But we can make our neighbor smile.

Let’s begin there.

The power of The Only Love Project is that doesn’t require any of us to be wealthy at the outset. We don’t need government grants, rich uncles, a silver-spoon upbringing, or a winning lottery ticket before we begin. We can begin right now, with what we have — even if what we have is nothing other than a desire to make a difference.

Let’s change the world…one heart at a time.

INSPIRATIONAL SOURCES

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
– John 13:34-35, ESV

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ― Mother Teresa

“Compassion, love, and altruism are not just religious qualities. As human beings, and even as animals, we need compassion and affection to develop, sustain ourselves, and survive.”
– The Dalai Lama

“In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.
– The Dhammapada,
Thomas Byrom translation

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime—the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter From Birmingham Jail”

“To accept the world without judgment or opinion is to realize true enlightenment. The wise attach to no judgments or opinions. The foolish concern themselves with the trivial.”
– Waller, Dennis (2012-07-24). Hsin Hsin Ming (p. 3). Kindle Edition

“Let all people return to their true nature.
Love, kindness, wisdom, family harmony, and loyalty
should not be taught one by one,
separately from an honest life.
Then, once again,
people will regain the natural virtues of wholeness.
The world will be naturally ordered.
There will be no one who singly and cunningly
works for personal interesting alone.”
– Lao Tzu,
Hua-Ching translation

“They are dear to me who run not after the pleasant
Or away from the painful, grieve not
Over the past, lust not today,
But let things come and go as they happen.

Who serve both friend and foe with equal love,
Not buoyed up by praise or cast down by blame,
Alike in heat and cold, pleasure and pain,
Free from selfish attachments and self-will,
Ever full, in harmony everywhere,
Firm in faith – such as these are dear to me.”
– The Bhagavad Gita,
Eknath Easwaran translation

“I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
– Tao Te Ching,
Stephen Mitchell translation

“Love wins.”
– Rob Bell

Contact

bill [at] theonlyloveproject [dot] org

NOTE: Substitute @ for [at] and . for [dot] and you’re good to go.