Peace

"If you expand your sense of love, of health, and existence, then you are drawn in this life and in others toward those qualities . . . because they are those upon which you concentrate." ~ Seth Speaks, Chapter 12, Session 550, September 28, 1970

I have for a while had to control myself from going off-topic and wandering into the wasteland of political/social ethics. I wanted very much to write something about the anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Centers and the events of September 11th but was not able to find a way to link my thoughts even tangentially to the subject of agoraphobia. I have been feeling pretty cranky about things that are happening in the world but this is not the place for me to air my opinions about that.

Still, events in the world impact the people in it. Generalized fear in society feeds the localized fear of many who are already struggling to feel safe in their own small universes. Aside from the reality of the memories of last September, we are dealing with a life of "Orange alerts," vague warnings of "possible" bad things which may or may not happen, and an administration convinced that violence is the only solution to the world's problems. Perhaps it is the only way they are able to feel safe with their own fear. Whatever its motivation, I have trouble with the concept that dropping bombs on people is a solution to anything. I am a hard-core pacifist. I am trying to embody the words quoted above and remember to "love peace" instead of "hating war," trying to remember that one of my own favorite maxims applies as much here as anywhere: "You become the thing you hate."

We can take the love of peace and expand it beyond violence between countries, though. We can make it about loving our communities and ourselves. We can love inner peace instead of hating inner turmoil. We can love joy and security instead of hating fear and anxiety. What we do internally, who we are in our own lives radiates out from us and touches everyone. We can find our virtues and our strengths (even if in the beginning we have to work REALLY hard to do so) and love them instead of hating our shame and our inadequacies. We can love the strength of bodies which carry too much weight instead of hating the fat they carry. We can love the courage of spirits which live with faceless terror and still find ways to survive.

Go To Page: 1 2