Inspired by Morgana’s Blog I put off a planned post for today and instead decided to share a different video instead.

I discovered “Playing for Change” on Youtube in late 2008, through a compilation video showing musicians from around the globe contributing on the song Stand By Me.

(BTW I so love how Youtube has unshackled me in terms of what music I can listen to, what music I love, and what music I am willing to discover … music that might not make it to radio play, music I might never otherwise hear, music I might have otherwise forgotten or never gotten around to)

I’ve loved this song, ever since the movie of the same name came out in 1986 and I fell in love with it again. It was the spirit of global connectedness that the video portrays, and the feeling it expresses of us all being one people.

And if we are all truly one people then color shouldn’t matter, race shouldn’t matter, gender shouldn’t matter, religion shouldn’t matter, sexual orientation shouldn’t matter.

Anyway, Morgana asked her readers to post a video and to feature “Playing for Change” on their blogs to shine a light on the work this organization is doing which includes ” (bringing) musicians from all over the world … together to perform benefit concerts that build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope.”

“That until there is no longer first class
And second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man’s skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war”
– “War”, Bob Marley

“(We don’t need no more trouble)
Make love and not war! ‘Cause we don’t need no trouble.
What we need is love (love)
To guide and protect us on. (on)
If you hope good down from above, (love)
Help the weak if you are strong now. (love)”
– “No More Trouble”, Bob Marley

What we all need is love …. love for ourselves, for our families, for our communities, for our nations, for the globe and everyone and everything on it.

While I was a young Witch, not long after my 2nd degree Initiation (if memory serves), Gamer Dude (in the ranks at that time of first love, ex-boyfriend, turned friend, for whom I still had feelings for on a level I didn’t understand that well) was a Marine serving overseas in the Gulf War.

During this period my boyfriend at the time (I think it was while we were living together and still engaged – again if memory serves … it was a long time ago) led a circle in our/his(?) living room for peace. After we hit the peak of the spell and sent our energies out into the Universe …. suddenly the room was filled with music …. real audible music.

Of course it was coming from the downstairs neighbors radio. But as the radio turned on the first vocals trumpeted out the words “what the world needs now, is love, sweet love” which we all took as a nod of assent from the Gods above and a reminder. And, sadly, that reminder more needed now than then.

I’ve joked (sadly, darkly) that the people living on this plant (our little blue and green marble swimming in a swirl of stars) probably wont get it right until we discover, without room for doubt, intelligent life on another planet. Until then we will probably remain blinded, unable to see that “we are all Earthlings” (gotta love Sesame Street). We fear each other .. we fear what we don’t know … what we don’t understand … what we can’t control …

What’s a Witch to do in a world like this …. in a time like we live in?

Send love …. there is no such thing as too much. Send it to the whole globe …. see it blowing on the wind and traveling through the rains into the rivers and growing like weeds through the earth and pulsing like lava at its core. See that love touching every living creature … every person … see it bringing with it compassion and understanding and tolerance and joy.

Can love change the world? Can music? Can it hurt to try?

Love!

Mama Kelly

• Celebrating How Much Love I’ve Had in My Life...

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