Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. ~Buddha
But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ~Jesus
If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations./ If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities./ If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors./ If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home./ If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart. ~Lao Tzu
Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace. ~Bhagavad Gita
This is an article dedicated to Bloggers for Peace. See below for more detail.
Peace is elusive. Or rather, peace seems elusive. Many humans dream of a world in which we all live in harmony while simultaneously doubting that such a place could ever exist. I’m as guilty as the next person. How easy is it to have your notions of peace, compassion, and understanding crushed by a single violent act, a harmful word, or even an insulting glance? Most of us have been there. Yet, the simple truth is that any faltering of our ideals has less to do with others than it does with each of us as an individual. Many, if not all, conflicts, wars, arguments start with one person or a small group of people who are dissatisfied in some way; angry, hurt, degraded. And these feelings are generally caused by an opposing party who may be corrupt, greedy, power-hungry, selfish. All of these feelings and traits can be distilled into one truth: lack of self-awareness.
If we expound upon this notion that conflict starts with one dissatisfied person, then it stands to reason that if that one person could cultivate true self-awareness and presence, more than likely conflict can be avoided. Because when you embrace WHAT IS you put space around your thoughts and emotions. You examine from a different perspective; often a perspective of radical openness and compassion. The point is that if humanity is ever going to achieve harmony, it must start with the individual. Outer-peace will only be found by first achieving and striving for inner-peace. It’s a choice. We always have a choice. A choice to examine our values, what truly matters and to embrace the now accordingly.
Now, I realize this is all easier said than done. And understand that I am not advocating complete and utter pacifism. Take Ghandi, for example. He achieved so much with non-violent protestation. He revered and respected every other human being, even his enemies. But he did not roll over and simply take injustice. He peacefully, presently and powerfully said “NO.”
So, here are three simple peace practices you can undertake today:
- Tell someone close to you how much they mean to you.
- Meditate for 5-10 minutes
- If you find yourself getting angry, or upset in any way take a moment. Stop what you’re doing and check in. Observe your breath and decide if what is upsetting you is real or simply a fear-fantasy. If it is fantasy let it go. If it is real, decide if you can change it or walk away from it. If you can’t do either, peacefully accept it.
This article serves the Bloggers for Peace Movement. Please click the badge on the sidebar of our homepage to learn more and get involved. And for more blogging for peace check out this article.
May you know Peace.
By Terence Stone
Thanks for the mention.
Of course! I enjoyed your article.
As I mentioned in my reply to your comment on my blog post, I completely agree that inner-peace at the individual level is essential for outer-peace to happen. This is a very clear and well written post. I love how you provide three peace practices for your readers to follow (Unfortunately though the “meditate” link is not working for me). I also love the quotes from different religious and spritiual traditions that you start your post with. Thank you for this excellent blog post on peace and for the peace practices that you suggest!
Steve, I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for reading! I’ve fixed the meditation link so give it a try now.
Excellent! I will take a look. Thank you!
Good article, I enjoyed it. What Buddha said about anger hit me; good thought.
Thanks, Alexander! Glad you enjoyed it. Yea the Buddha..he knew what was going on. Too often we forget that emotions are more about us resisting what is than anything or anyone else. And the longer we hold onto them, the more painful they become.
[…] How do we break the cycle? There are many paths. Some may choose intensive therapy. Some may ‘find God.’ Some may throw themselves into a fulfilling career. None of these are inherently right or wrong ways to cope with and defy pain. The ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ comes from within ourselves. Therapy will do you no good if you are unwilling to do the work, to face the pain head-on. It has the potential to become another painful child-parent association. Finding God will fail you if you dump all of your pain on God and believe he will do all the work to fix you. A career will only be a distraction if your life becomes all work and no introspective play. What is the point? It comes down to one thing: Presence. You must be present enough to realize that first of all, pain is there. Accept the pain and you put space around it. Secondly, when there is space, it gives room to question held beliefs about the source of that pain. You may believe you are ‘bad’ and thus the source, but if there is space, you will see the potential fault in that logic. Lastly, you must realize that you are not your pain. We tend to identify so heavily with our emotions, especially negative ones, that we believe they are an intrinsic part of our being. It is not so. Accept that your pain informs your existence, but it is not you. Not at the core. At the core, you are pure, non-dualistic, brilliant consciousness deserving of love and peace. […]
Excellent, inspiring and succint!