A few days ago, an e-letter arrived in my In box. It's one of numerous items I receive that relate in some way to spirituality, right livelihood, positive attitude, and what-have-you. I find them to be an interesting source of ideas to ponder. I don't always agree with the ideas offered, but even then they can be a good stimulant for my own thoughts.
This was such a time. What has made it so interesting is that this one paragraph catapulted me into a series of contemplations on how to bring true peace to the world. Heady stuff, to be sure, yet it seems to me that, if we are really living a life with Spirit, world peace should be one of our highest priority goals. For me, the short statement, or creed, I wrote more than a decade ago, encapsulates the essence of living a life with Spirit:
one world ~ one people
one Spirit ~ one message:
Live in Harmony
When we recognize the truth that we are all God's children, that each of us carries within the essence of the Sacred Source of all things, and then live our lives with that truth as our very foundation, we cannot help but strive to live in harmony with the rest of creation - most importantly, with our fellow human beings.
Now, after all that lead-up, let's go back to the message that got me started.
This issue's prayer called on God to "bring peace" to nations suffering from war. Why? If it were God's responsibility to end the war in Afghanistan, don't you think He'd have done something before now? Thing is, it's not His responsibility; it belongs to the people who started the war, and who perpetuate it. And, unfortunately, that means those of us in the US who have allowed this war to continue. We'll talk about that later, but there's a larger context in which we need to frame the discussion, and I'll get there in a minute. But there's another piece of the puzzle to display first.
The morning after this particular email, I watched a report about a 15 year old boy who was doused with rubbing alcohol and lit on fire by five other young teens. At one point the mother said that something had to be done to curb the violence in our children. Without thinking, I murmured, "start with the government." Glenda asked what the government could do to stop the violence.
My point was (and is) that we live under a government that, for decades, has only seen one option when we didn't get our way: violence. Don't like a legitimately elected government? Overthrow it. Want to control another country's resources? Invade it on a flimsy excuse. On and on it goes. Lies and fear are spread to force us into line. Cries of lack of patriotism if we disagree with the warmongers. And, now, we're told that constant war is the only way to have peace.
Wait a minute? Didn't Orwell warn us of this?
Like it or not, the US has been the largest geopolitical bully for more than fifty years - and all for the sake of the wealthiest among us, so they could capture even more wealth. Eisenhower warned us, and we ignored him. Now, we're reaping the sad harvest of that apathy. Our nation has gotten in bed with the worst of despots, dictators and iron-handed monarchs when it suited corporate profits. We have undermined legitimate governments that were supported by the people when they wouldn't yield control of their resources to us, setting up corrupt, repressive regimes in their place, and couldn't have cared less how it adversely affected the citizens.
The amount of money, people, resources, time and other measures of energy and focus spent on perpetuating global violence is staggering. How any person who claims religion as the cornerstone of their life can rationalize and excuse it is unfathomable. How does this relate to our children? Simple - they are doing what they're taught to do.
Our children are being taught that violence is the only answer. They see our own government do it. They see adults commit violence to get their way. They watch their parents get into screaming matches and fights at their soccer games. Does anyone think that they're learning to responsibly deal with conflict and disagreement?
At the same time, we live in a country that has lost much of its hope. Our children look at the world and see less opportunity to better their lives. They graduate college only to find that there is no work for them. They see little chance of fulfillment and happiness in the pursuit of career. It makes them frustrated and very angry. Faced with these feelings, they vent them as they have been taught - in violence.
If we really want to change things, we have to start with ourselves. That means living our lives centered on peaceful coexistence with others. It doesn't mean rolling over and letting others take advantage of us. We can still take a stand for our rights, and the rights of others, but it must be done from a center of peace. And that is very different center than violence.
Some talk about courage in terms of committing violence on another. Yet how much courage does it take to attack someone smaller, younger (or older!), weaker and/or less violent? How much courage does it take to attack an individual in groups? How much courage does it take to swing a club, throw a brick, fire a gun? (By the way, how often have you seen someone start a fight because they were in the right?)
It takes a very special kind of courage to take a stand in peace. Gandhi resisted peacefully and changed the world. John Woolman spent much of his life, quietly persuading his fellow Quakers to end their participation in slavery. Thanks to his efforts, no Quaker owned slaves - one hundred years before our Civil War.
Our spirituality calls us to be peacemakers. Matthew 5:9 (ISV) says:
How blessed are those who make peace, because it is they who will be called God's children.
In truth, creating a truly peaceful world begins within each of us who claim a life with Spirit. It must begin within before we can encourage it in others. We must rededicate ourselves daily to the promise of living in harmony - in peace - with others.
This is how it begins. In future posts, I'll offer thoughts on how it continues. But before we can look at others, we must look to ourselves. This, too, is an important part of living a life with Spirit.
In peace,
Lane
This was such a time. What has made it so interesting is that this one paragraph catapulted me into a series of contemplations on how to bring true peace to the world. Heady stuff, to be sure, yet it seems to me that, if we are really living a life with Spirit, world peace should be one of our highest priority goals. For me, the short statement, or creed, I wrote more than a decade ago, encapsulates the essence of living a life with Spirit:
one world ~ one people
one Spirit ~ one message:
Live in Harmony
When we recognize the truth that we are all God's children, that each of us carries within the essence of the Sacred Source of all things, and then live our lives with that truth as our very foundation, we cannot help but strive to live in harmony with the rest of creation - most importantly, with our fellow human beings.
Now, after all that lead-up, let's go back to the message that got me started.
This issue's prayer called on God to "bring peace" to nations suffering from war. Why? If it were God's responsibility to end the war in Afghanistan, don't you think He'd have done something before now? Thing is, it's not His responsibility; it belongs to the people who started the war, and who perpetuate it. And, unfortunately, that means those of us in the US who have allowed this war to continue. We'll talk about that later, but there's a larger context in which we need to frame the discussion, and I'll get there in a minute. But there's another piece of the puzzle to display first.
The morning after this particular email, I watched a report about a 15 year old boy who was doused with rubbing alcohol and lit on fire by five other young teens. At one point the mother said that something had to be done to curb the violence in our children. Without thinking, I murmured, "start with the government." Glenda asked what the government could do to stop the violence.
My point was (and is) that we live under a government that, for decades, has only seen one option when we didn't get our way: violence. Don't like a legitimately elected government? Overthrow it. Want to control another country's resources? Invade it on a flimsy excuse. On and on it goes. Lies and fear are spread to force us into line. Cries of lack of patriotism if we disagree with the warmongers. And, now, we're told that constant war is the only way to have peace.
Wait a minute? Didn't Orwell warn us of this?
Like it or not, the US has been the largest geopolitical bully for more than fifty years - and all for the sake of the wealthiest among us, so they could capture even more wealth. Eisenhower warned us, and we ignored him. Now, we're reaping the sad harvest of that apathy. Our nation has gotten in bed with the worst of despots, dictators and iron-handed monarchs when it suited corporate profits. We have undermined legitimate governments that were supported by the people when they wouldn't yield control of their resources to us, setting up corrupt, repressive regimes in their place, and couldn't have cared less how it adversely affected the citizens.
The amount of money, people, resources, time and other measures of energy and focus spent on perpetuating global violence is staggering. How any person who claims religion as the cornerstone of their life can rationalize and excuse it is unfathomable. How does this relate to our children? Simple - they are doing what they're taught to do.
Our children are being taught that violence is the only answer. They see our own government do it. They see adults commit violence to get their way. They watch their parents get into screaming matches and fights at their soccer games. Does anyone think that they're learning to responsibly deal with conflict and disagreement?
At the same time, we live in a country that has lost much of its hope. Our children look at the world and see less opportunity to better their lives. They graduate college only to find that there is no work for them. They see little chance of fulfillment and happiness in the pursuit of career. It makes them frustrated and very angry. Faced with these feelings, they vent them as they have been taught - in violence.
If we really want to change things, we have to start with ourselves. That means living our lives centered on peaceful coexistence with others. It doesn't mean rolling over and letting others take advantage of us. We can still take a stand for our rights, and the rights of others, but it must be done from a center of peace. And that is very different center than violence.
Some talk about courage in terms of committing violence on another. Yet how much courage does it take to attack someone smaller, younger (or older!), weaker and/or less violent? How much courage does it take to attack an individual in groups? How much courage does it take to swing a club, throw a brick, fire a gun? (By the way, how often have you seen someone start a fight because they were in the right?)
It takes a very special kind of courage to take a stand in peace. Gandhi resisted peacefully and changed the world. John Woolman spent much of his life, quietly persuading his fellow Quakers to end their participation in slavery. Thanks to his efforts, no Quaker owned slaves - one hundred years before our Civil War.
Our spirituality calls us to be peacemakers. Matthew 5:9 (ISV) says:
How blessed are those who make peace, because it is they who will be called God's children.
In truth, creating a truly peaceful world begins within each of us who claim a life with Spirit. It must begin within before we can encourage it in others. We must rededicate ourselves daily to the promise of living in harmony - in peace - with others.
This is how it begins. In future posts, I'll offer thoughts on how it continues. But before we can look at others, we must look to ourselves. This, too, is an important part of living a life with Spirit.
In peace,
Lane
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