What's a Coachella?

The idea for this blog originated (literal) years ago. You could say the inspiration for it arose as my younger self waded through teenagehood, mostly unanchored and with a lot of unanswered questions about who I was and where I was going. In that regard, it wasn't terribly different from most teenagehoods—some regrets here, some rebellion there. But most of all, I felt like I was grasping for some sort of guidance that didn't exist the way that I needed it to. And it was paradoxical, as so many things are, because the last thing I wanted was to be told what to do, yet I yearned for some sort of outlet or resource where I could at least learn more about the options I had in growing up and becoming somebody.

I created Love Force because I wanted to create the space that I needed so desperately a decade ago, and often still need now. Because I know that I'm not the only woman—human—in the world that's seeking to thrive.

But what's a love force?

Before I tell you that, I need to tell you about India in the early 20th century. Mahatma Gandhi was leading a movement of non-violence seeking Indian independence from British rule. It was throughout these years that he developed the philosophy of satyagraha. The word satyagraha is a compound of the Sanskrit words satya (meaning "truth") and agraha (meaning "to grasp or hold"). Satya is derived from the word "sat", which means "being". Together, satyagraha came to be understood as adherence to, or pursuit of truth. But its application expanded beyond non-violence. In his own words, Gandhi described: "Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love . . ." (M.K. Gandhi, Satyagraha in South Africa). Satyagraha became a "truth-force", a "love-force" and a "soul-force" that inspired the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela in their quests for the betterment of humanity. In a 2006 interview, Gandhi's grandson Arun Gandhi explained, "My grandfather believed that truth should be the cornerstone of everybody's life and that we must dedicate our lives to pursuing truth, to finding out the truth in our lives. And so his entire philosophy was the philosophy of life. It was not just a philosophy for conflict resolution, but something that we have to imbibe in our life and live it all the time so that we can improve and become better human beings."

Inspired by satyagraha, Love Force is about truth, and about being alive, and about what those two things mean for us (both individually and collectively) when they're intertwined together. Though this blog likely won't liberate a nation or turn the tide of oppressive tyranny, it will serve as a space for readers and participants to pursue their truth, to improve and to become better human beings. Because love is the most powerful force in the world.