Creating Peace

A wise mentor once said: There will be no world peace until each person has inner peace.

"What does that mean?" asks S.

"Basically," replied M "it means that if every person felt peaceful, happy and joyous inside all the time, who would want to fight? If someone came up to you and said 'let's go kill so and so' instead of saying 'hell, yeah, let's go get him.' from a place of anger and fear and surging adrenalin (definitely non-peaceful inside) you would now say, 'No. Not me. I feel much too good today to kill anyone. Think I'll go walk in the park or do something else that makes me feel good." FEELING GOOD FEELS GOOD. WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER? FEELING GOOD OR FEELING ANGER, FEAR, OR OTHER NEGATIVE FEELINGS?

"Yeah," says S. "but how can I stay peaceful when there is screaming and gun fighting and bombs going off and chaos outside? That's real drama. l could get hurt or killed or something."

"Can you do anything right in that happening moment about the gun fighting and bombs and chaos? Are you screaming, too?"

"No, But I get so scared. You know, like it could happen to me at any time."

"Yep," M. said. "I can sure see how you might make yourself so afraid that you'd want to pee your pants.'"

"Huh?"

"What do you think would happen if during all the outside-of-you gun fighting, bombing and screaming you focused on making yourself feel calm inside as much as possible? Then you decide to watch the action outside of you and just observe it without emotion or judgment."

"Oh, I don't know that I could do that. Are you saying that I could just be calm inside and watch it all like watching a movie?"

"I don't know. Could you? When we just observe and are concerned with nothing else but our own sacred inner peace and joy, it does kind of take the trauma drama out of all those others who enjoy fighting and killing or at least think it is necessary. It makes it easier to dodge the bullets, too." he adds with a smile. FEAR MAKES THE DRAMA REAL. INNER PEACE MAKES THE DRAMA ABSURD.

"It is what it is," continues M. "If there is nothing you can do about it then why get fearful and upset? In intense drama situations, a friend of mine reminds himself by putting it this way - he says with a smile, "God called me on the phone this morning and said he has people take care of it. There is nothing I need to do."

"That feels like relief. Could that be really what I am after? The feeling of relief? I don't have to feel fearful or participate, or fix or save or do anything to add to the drama? Hummm. I'll think about this and maybe try it. Sounds hard."

"Life will give you plenty of opportunities for practice."

"I'll let you know how it goes."

"May your peace be with you."