Everything is constantly changing. Life is movement. It has always been so. ‘Flow states’ are where we move, physically and mentally, with confidence and grace. Problems are where movement becomes difficult.

To solve big problems, we need love. By love I don’t mean ‘falling in love.’ That’s a whole other story. By love, I mean an ability to feel the interconnection of our inner and outer worlds, and to know that everything, and I mean everything, is part of the solution.

What I am proposing is a radical re-framing of how we approach problem solving – whether that’s in business, in relationships, or in politics. What I am proposing takes courage, curiosity, and an ability to stand your ground.

Love means working towards understanding a problem from multiple viewpoints, and from different levels. It’s about pursuing the desire to understand holistically, not just analytically. It’s left and right hemispheres of the brain working together. It requires trust in yourself, and trust that the solution is in the broader system.

Love is about paying attention, with openness and care, to the parts of you that are inspiring and hopeful, and with equal attention, paying attention to the parts of you that are stubborn and difficult, and in pain. Love is about paying attention, with openness and care, to others around you who are inspiring and hopeful, and with equal attention, paying attention to those who are stubborn and difficult, and in pain. They all have their story. Love is about listening and collaborating in such a way that you can hear the message and integrate its meaning even when the form of the messenger is not what you expected, or even wanted. Love is about synthesising what you hear and see, and then acting and working with others as best you can. It won’t be perfect, but it will be more systemic, and given problems are, indeed life is, systemic, the action will be more effective.

And then you learn by doing. Listen with love, act with love. There’s as many ways of doing this as there are people in the world. We need to discover our own way, and it will be different every time.