On Peace, Dignity & Insecurity: What Peace Isn't (Part I)
The following excerpt of:
Searching For Peace In Broken Glass
belongs in a 2011 project of mine
. . .
Dove (鸽子) will lead you to Part II
Peace is not an indulgence—
Peace is not a political rally?
Peace is not a protest?
Peace is not a verbal condemnation of a group, person, or their actions?
Peace is not a fest; a fair; a vigil;
Peace is neither a demonstration nor a flag-burning, nation/leader-bashing event.
Peace is not an indulgence?
Peace is not the involvement of kids at political rallies?
Peace is not teaching children whom to play with; or which races, religious or social groups to shun?
Peace does not begin with sentences like "It is because of [the/your] government" or the fault of fill-in-the-blank?
Peace does not begin with sentences like "It is because of American foreign policy?"
Peace is not nationalism, elitism, xenophobia (all such negative phobias injurious to human dignity, happiness, and/or the pursuit of daily peace and harmony), ethnocentricity—"they don't belong here" mentality?
Peace is not looking for cause(s) or grievance on which to base hatred of another group, because when such cause(s) is/are addressed eventually, another must of necessity re-emerge—to fight, or live for, however diabolical?
Peace is not a word, proclaimed—and the deed realized?
Peace is not allowing millions of Africans to die of natural yet avoidable causes; HIV/AIDS, while others' plight are deemed higher?
Peace is not existential issue though on the flipside, it is...an existential issue, depending on which extremes one wants to lean
Peace is not a trip to a synagogue or shrine?
Peace is not a Sunday self-gratifying attendance of a church service?
Peace is not a Friday mosque prayer followed by violence and "Death to America" chants?
Peace is not "Wipe [fill-in-the-blank 'country, group, or people'] off the face of the earth, and voilà!
Peace is not a self-indulgence—
Peace is not playing it safe?
Peace is not wearing a risk-averse mantle; a stay in my shell attitude?
Peace is not allowing one's values and moral code to be bought with money, whether via social services provided or propaganda, for intellect— when all else fails, is humankind's last hope. But even that hope becomes blurred when we allow loyalty to be bought. And so,
Peace has nothing to do with religion and proclamations of its peace when the individual's morality and loyalty is already paid for?
Peace is certainly NOT assured through some vague security model called "noninterference".
Peace is not robbing your neighbor, bedfellow, family, or friend of "your part" in their happiness as if 'boomerang' is merely fictional?
Peace is not an ignorance and self-centeredness, modus vivendi?
Peace is not starting a relationship you know you're not 100% committed to seeing through in a lifetime, not long-term?
Peace is not asking someone to love "only" you when your posture is a "wait for a better person out there" posture?
Peace is not crying foul, be it "Help! International Community, we're dying", or "Cheat!", when you have been a sneaky snake yourself?
Peace is not crying foul just because as a consequence of your inconsideration to your lover, family, or friend, harmony is deficient?
Peace is not a get away to Hawaii, Venice, Tahiti, Bali...
Not even a poor man's get away to New Jersey or the ravine at home.
Peace does not exist somewhere in between the Middle, the East, the West, and the perpetual hyperbole in invocations of "the International Community", "terror", "massacre", "terrorist" "martyrdom", or the hyphen that separate the Middle from the East! After all, there's a wider Asia, wider Africa, Europa, and the Americas, not to mention Oceania, where in Australia to name one example, natives are dying and immigrants are suffering unprecedented racism, says BBC?
No. That is not peace.
In order to be peaceful...and at peace...
In order, I say, to be peaceful—person or group—one must be able to unconditionally and consistently indict themselves with a view to contributing to human happiness. This is the near impossible part.
Peace is something we give first, and keep giving and sharing anyway.
Because it is almost insatiably fragile by its very nature.
That is why people like me, cannot ever divorce a discourse and demonstration of peace, from Love itself.
PEACE
TT
F I N I S
Comment
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Comment by Biophoton on July 22, 2010 at 5:26pm -
I think I also have destroyed the pure being of a bond and this gives me deep, deep concern and let me not live in peace, especially not in peace with myself and I think only when I'm in peace with myself I can give peace to other people.
The flowers are beautiful.
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Comment by THiNKTaNK on July 22, 2010 at 5:21pm -
It also doesn't matter what perfection you destroyed.
We're all flawed. And all your points are 100% valid. Humility and love do go hand in hand. But there are different kinds of love. Just like there's common sense, spiritual sense, and so on.
I tend to look within first (for security) before looking to (or placing my hope in) humans, groups, and so-called "friends" to validate me. Because ultimately, as pleasant as human love feels superficially speaking, you answer to your Maker and yourself/soul.
When you close that door after the parties are over and couples (old and new) have said their goodnights to you, you face yourself...Sie stehen deine Seele...And those are the moments when a strong moral creed can help prevent or confront despair. Human will alone is vulnerable.
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Comment by THiNKTaNK on July 22, 2010 at 5:04pm
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Just received via e-mail (minutes after your last post)
Amazing coincidence!
"Teach your student that he must know himself before he can know others and minister to human needs. Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help."
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
Pg. 453:14–17
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Comment by Biophoton on July 22, 2010 at 4:52pm
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I think I had made me perfect, but I have destroyed this perfectness and came out as an imperfect person.
I did it to myself. I also might be superficial - oberflaechlich to the people around me and they blame me for that,
but why they judge me so easily?
Shouldn't it be the fact, that we should look into something or someone very carefully before we judge?
Gratitude is a high valuable, but should it dominate allover?
Should not be humbleness, loalty and forgiving love and understanding equal with gratitude??
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Comment by THiNKTaNK on July 22, 2010 at 4:44pm
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Life is all about choices and as I always say...gratitude.
I feel the same way as you do, and yet I interact with my Maker (asking and committing all to Him), rather than reminding Him of how "imperfect" He made me.
The Bible says in the Book of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 7:29):
"Gott hat uns alle perfekt, aber die Menschen haben sich hartnäckig oberflächliche Weise erfunden bestehenden und Genießens."
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Comment by Biophoton on July 22, 2010 at 4:30pm
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I'm afraid I found the boundary of beeing understood.
So I hvae to go my way now, alone and nt in peace with me and the world.
I hope my Maker can accept me imperfect as I am.
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Comment by THiNKTaNK on July 22, 2010 at 4:21pm
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Seek first to understand, and then be understood...says Stephen Covey.
Much harder to practice though, because we all want to be right.
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Comment by Biophoton on July 22, 2010 at 4:16pm
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Peace should be seen as a global achivement, but how we can achive it, if there is war between the human beings
and friends become over night enemies.
Does talking will help? I hope it does.
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Comment by THiNKTaNK on July 20, 2010 at 9:27pm
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[exhaling...]
A good job is so hard to find isn't it?
Like a good man or woman (relationship-wise)
But where's "back home"? If you don't mind my asking...Oh wait! Poland rings a bell. But I don't wanna confuse you with sb else.
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Comment by THiNKTaNK on July 17, 2010 at 5:16pm
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True
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