By Wes Annac

Unity is commonly associated with conformity and the suppression of the individual, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

We can come together without conforming to the same beliefs or lifestyle, but we have to accept that we all think differently and look beyond our differences for the common good.

I’m not saying we should tolerate dangerous views that could cause harm to others, but it’s equally harmful to fight over ideological differences in a world where everyone thinks differently.

Our job is not to think or behave like each other, but to learn to respect our individuality and the value of independent thought.

People are accustomed to going to extremes with everything, so when a revolutionary concept like unity is brought to the table, it’s automatically associated with conformity and discouragement of the things that make us each unique.

The other extreme is to fight to the death over our differences, and nowhere in this spectrum does tolerance appear. We can change this by realizing that our differences aren’t going away any time soon and they can actually bring us together, with mutual love and respect, instead of diving us.

In order to come together without feeling the need to conform, we have to discredit and do away with the idea that different means bad.

We have to look at the big picture to see that we’ve been letting petty things keep us apart, and while this will be difficult for most of the world, it needs to happen if we want to sustain this planet for future generations.

The way we’re living right now is completely unsustainable, and if we want to change anything about it, we have to work together. There’s no way around it, and if we continue to stall the inevitable, we might wake up one day and realize it was too late.

I don’t think we’ll face multiple disasters or anything else that evokes fear, but something bold has to occur to shake humanity out of our slumber and help us see that unity and respect for our differences are crucial.

The path of love, unity and respect is the only thing that can free our planet from the devastation we’re knowingly causing, and while it’ll probably hurt the ego in the beginning, we’ll know it was worth it when we prevent the disasters our careless pollution would eventually cause.

The pain we suffer in the beginning would pale in comparison to the pain our future generations will have to endure if we don’t work together to make a change now, and the selflessness this change will require will hurt the ego as much as learning to respect our various beliefs and lifestyles.

We can do it, but we have to step outside of our comfort zone to work with those we would’ve fought in the past. It all requires a return to love, and until the world truly understands love and its importance in society, our efforts for change will be fruitless and the passion behind them will quickly die.

When we understand and embody love, we’ll see that unity isn’t as much about being the same as it is honoring individuality. The very idea that unity should mean conformity says something about the human condition, and love will reawaken the understanding of what unity is supposed to be.

We can then share this understanding with those who’ve been in the dark about love, unity and respect, and if we work hard enough and share our truth with everyone who’s willing to listen, the influence of love and genuine unity will spread like wildfire.

The world will finally have the collective awakening it needs, and even more important will be the social action that results. We’ll finally care enough about each other and our planet to take a stand for the environment and the human rights that are denied to us, and the work will be easier because we’ll do it all together.

There will be disagreements, fights and hard times along the way because it’s all about learning and growing, but we’ll be glad we went through it when we look back on our accomplishments.

In healing the planet, we’ll have healed our own souls in a way that frees us to pursue our life purpose with even more passion. The more our souls are healed, the more inspired we’ll be to pour our love into our work, and we’ll support each other in our efforts to improve the earth.

This obviously has yet to happen, and since most of the world is still unwilling to come together and the very idea is considered naïve, we’ll have to show the way no matter how much it hurts.

We don’t have to take any abuse, but the light we give now will spread throughout the collective consciousness whether or not we believe it. If we can give love and respect even in stressful or chaotic times, we can make little ripples that will grow into waves and make an impact on everyone.

We just have to be willing to show the way by respecting the differences we share with others and encouraging them to do the same, and we can pass the torch onto future generations who’ll live by our example and continue where we left off.

We can initiate the transformation this society needs with small efforts to bring people together in love and respect, but we have to try. More importantly, we have to refuse to give up and stand strong in our love, knowing that this is the best and only way to make a genuine change that will last.