peace is an inside job

‘What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek?… Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children…not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.’ ~ JFK

These words echoed into my soul as a teenager, and still reverberate today. War puzzled me as a child, and still puzzles me today. As a strong empath,
I have not been able to reconcile the killing of other human beings on a grand scale as an equitable solution of a problem.

I have come to understand that peace is an inside job. War on the grand scale reflects a war within the individual. It has led me to ask, ‘am I at peace within myself?’ And the truth has been, ‘no.’

My perfectionist tendencies have been at war with my peace-loving heart. I have made circumstances and others wrong because they have not fit within my worldview. My ego has tried to inflate the grandeur of my viewpoints and deflate those differing viewpoints.

I have also judged my own choices as wrong. Shaming and guilting myself over thoughts, words and deeds.

With the gift of perspective, I understand how destructive that behaviour has been, and it has illuminated the hypothesis that all war starts in the individual.

Can we be more gentle with ourselves, and thus with each other? I believe we can, and we are. I know that I am not the only one who sees the world from this perspective.

What if we all truly sought peace within? Would that reflect outward in our world?

Much love ALL