I've been a bit frustrated lately. Somewhere between…[I had originally typed out several recent
events and nationally known people who thrive on exposure even when it’s horrible,
but I just couldn't stand to give them one ounce of publicity through this blog,
so I scratched it, but the end of the sentence read:] …I lost faith in
humanity for a second. You know what I mean, don’t you?
I will strive to focus on the positive, even though my heart
grows heavy at times from the overabundance of hate and fear I see in our
communities. Anti-Islam ads on buses, anti-Semitic politicians, anti-lgbtq,
anti-this, anti-that, anti-whatever-it-is-that-I-have-not-taken-the-time-to-understand,
anti-blah, blah, blah. Aren't we tired of anti
yet? I am often reminded of Dr. King Jr.’s quote: “Darkness cannot drive out
darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do
that.” I am just as appalled as anyone at the violence and blatant injustices
in many parts of the world (including our own), but countering darkness with our own special brand
of darkness does not seem to be working out well. There must be another way. It
seems to me, and I say this through my personal experience, it is much easier
to be anti-whatever than it is to take the time to understand this world and be the embodiment of love, peace, and light. With
that being said, there has been no greater personal peace, than in the
purposeful choosing of the latter.
I have not always been so obsessed with peace. For the
longest of times, I don't remember even giving it much thought, which is odd
since I was a minister and a Christian. I believed [tried hard to convince
myself] that the only path of peace was a relationship with Jesus and a life of
worship to God. This was the only way for anyone to be truly happy, which is where many of the problems within religions begin. This was the only truth…or so I was taught. As I made my way
out of this belief system, and since this belief system was so ingrained in my
being, I fully expected to feel less peaceful, less happy, less fulfilled, but
the opposite was wonderfully true. It was quite a surprise and shock to me; as
time went on, and I ventured into the world that had once seemed so
frightening, I stumbled upon a profound peace and a heart of compassion that literally changed my life in every way. I
think, perhaps, I just uncovered the peace and compassion that had been lying
dormant in my soul for all those years; I was slowly awakening.
Today, September 21, is the International Day of Peace,
established to strengthen the idea of peace everywhere and to purposefully
promote peace throughout the world’s communities. (Today is also the Baghdad City of Peace Carnival that I spoke of in an earlier post—my heart is cheering them!) Hold
peace in your heart. Peace is possible, I firmly believe this to be true, but
it takes all of us choosing peace as a daily lifestyle. Let's BE FOR each other and FOR each other's peaceful journey instead of all this negative focus. Perhaps it is indeed
the hardest choice, but isn't it worth a try?
*I don't tear-up easily, but something about this photo moved me to great depths.
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