In a letter from Einstein to his daughter, Lieserl – which went viral in May 2015, is a moving account of love as a mass that can be substituted into the physicist’s theory of relativity, E=mc2. The letter is about “The Universal Force of Love”.
The viral letter however was not by Einstein, neither was it written to Lieserl. Einstein’s stepdaughter, Margot Einstein, did however give the letters she had inherited from her late stepfather to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1984.[1] Spanning almost 3,500 pages of correspondence from 1914 to 1955 between Einstein’s first and second wives and children[2], his letter to Lieserl does not exist.
To whomever wrote this letter and remains anonymous in the shadow of Einstein himself – It remains a mystery. Regardless of who the author is, it allows for a reminiscing of a long lost letter. "It’s a beautiful read, offering a universal message that speaks to the essence of the human condition and our incessant yearning to believe in love’s conquering force.”[3] Highlighting the falsity of this rumour, Diana L. Kormos-Buchwald, director of the Einstein Papers Project points us towards another universal message: the need to want to find the truth in all things. To really know the authenticity about things we care for.
But for an instant let us imagine that Einstein did write this for Lieserl, with his own moving hand and ink. Reading the words through that meaning; Love, as a universal energy.
Selected paragraphs from Albert Einstein’s letter to his daughter.
“There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.
When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.
This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.
To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E=mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.
Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.
However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.
When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.
I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it’s too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you.”
Your father,
Albert Einstein
References
[1] n.d. Released Material. http://www.albert-einstein.org/.index9.html.
[2] “Ibid.”
[3] Rose, Katharine. 2017. The Truth Behind Einstein’s Letter on the ‘Universal Force’ of Love. December 6. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-truth-behind-einsteins-letter-on-the-universal-force-of-love_b_7949032.
Comments