Peace in the World
Obviously, the title refers to the heartfelt hopes and dreams of most of the individuals now living on the planet, not the perception of reality that we see today. Peace in any situation is a tenuous thing at best dependent upon the vagaries of those who are involved in the events of the world and the ever-changing climes of political issues and economic forces.
As we sit perched on the brink of possible planetary annihilation, let calmer hearts and minds prevail and let us each within our hearts and souls visualize only peaceful outcomes to all the many and varied scenarios that are at this moment playing out on the stage of this world drama. Let us each pray and meditate on peace, creating within our bodies and souls a calm and tranquil aura filled with the knowledge that all men are brothers and all women are sisters. Let us affirm by word, thought and intent that we are all made in the image of the Creator and are thus interconnected one with the other. Let us hold within us the truth that as we are connected with one another, so are we connected to the very planet where upon we live and breathe as well as the creatures who share its beauty with us.
As we injure one, we injure all. When one child dies of hunger, illness, deprivation, or violence, we are all impacted in ways that we cannot begin to fathom. When men, women, children, parents, and grandparents are tortured, starved, abused, and killed, it affects us all, for it unalterably and forever changes the future of the planet.
Whether or not you or I believe in the correctness of the political direction chosen by those who head our country’s government, we can make a difference in how the events of the next days, weeks, and months influence us all. To begin with, understand that whatever this conflict entails on the surface, there are greater lessons to be learned beneath the appearances of truth that are broadcast on our televisions and radios each day. There are higher essences to be experienced and spiritual basics to be shared by all who have eyes to see and ears to hear, for there are more fundamental questions to be answered here than “does Saddam have weapons of mass destruction?”
In the beginning propaganda of every government organizing every war, there is put to the citizens the question of patriotism and the responsibility to back the decisions made by those in power with money, supplies, and the very lives of the brightest and best of the youth, who pay the greatest price in terms of human loss. Those who have the audacity to look deeper than the political propaganda and the patriotic speeches intended to whip up religious-like fervor and ask the harder questions are in danger of being branded traitors to their mother countries. Does anybody remember the Viet Nam protesters and the unthinkable outrages perpetrated against them during the sixties and seventies? Remember Kent State and the tragedies that befell those who protested the Asian atrocities? Standing up for one’s beliefs is not always the pleasant flag waving experience that we are led to believe it will be, especially if what you believe to be right contradicts the current policies of those in power.
On September 11, 2001, the world was horrified at the sight of the disaster that took so many lives and, with few exceptions, condemned the actions of those behind the events of that day. Why did the instantaneous agreement on this happen? Because the world, governments, citizens, religious leaders, parents, women, children, and men of every nation, climate, and belief recognize that killing another human being is wrong.
Let me repeat-Killing another human being is wrong.
There are unique circumstances and events that transpire that make us understand why a killing happens. A parent protecting a child, or a spouse. A case of kill or be killed when self-defense is the only way to survive. But even though we may understand why it happens and forgive the one who has killed, we still uphold the underlying principle: to kill another human being is wrong. That is the reason for the court system as we know it, why so many are involved in the complicated business of law, crime, and punishment. Because killing is wrong.
If killing is wrong in one case, it is wrong in all cases. It is wrong for a man to shoot and kill his girlfriend because she looked at another man. It is wrong for a woman to drown her children in the bathtub. It is wrong for a policeman to shoot a young man who runs from the scene of a crime. It is wrong for a driver to run down a pedestrian in the crosswalk. It is wrong for a teenager to strangle his neighborhood playmate. It is wrong for a group of young boys to take rifles to school and shoot dozens of the schoolmates and teachers. Killing is wrong.
If killing is wrong, and I think that has been established, is it right to commit murder, to take another’s life for any reason? No. I do not think so. But apparently, many support the opinion that in some cases, killing is not only the right thing to do, but it is to be celebrated and held in pride. In all the major religions of the world, there is an admonishment from the Creator that commands us to refrain from killing and to hold human life sacred. Why then have there been so many deaths in the name of that Creator? The Spanish Inquisitions, the Crusades, the Jihads, the witch hunts, the ethnic “cleansings” all have been committed in the name of the Creator, God, Allah, Jesus, all of whom flatly stated that killing is wrong. Go figure!
It follows then, that all is killing is wrong. Can you see the hypocrisy of a state killing a man who has killed his girlfriend? This is a case of 2 wrongs that do not make a right. The same applies to the other examples. In none of these cases would executing the perpetrator of these crimes restore the victim to life. Execution only deprives another human being of life, another family of a loved one. It destroys; it does not correct. And execution definitely does not act as a deterrent. If that were so, all the Death Rows of all the prisons would be empty.
If some killing is wrong, then all killing is wrong, as we have all been taught since birth in one way or another.
If killing is wrong, then war is also wrong. War is the biggest killer of men, women, and especially children, who are the future of our world. What can be accomplished by war? The forceful takeover of one government, country, religion, criminal, principality by another which always turns out to be at least as manipulative, controlling, repressive, materialistic, and power hungry as the one it replaced. Students of history can bear this out.
In looking at the situation before the world at this moment in January 2003, I have to ask questions about the underlying reasons and machinations behind the determined war effort. Is there clear cut and irrefutable physical proof that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction in working order and that he is prepared to use them? Show us, please. Is the intended war to rid the world of this threat, or to finish what was started in 1990 by the president’s father? Is this in retaliation for the attempt made on the former leader’s life while in the Middle East last year? Is oil the real underlying reason for this situation as has been suggested by those in the Middle East? Are we really prepared to pay the price for another planetary war? Think of the price in terms of thousands of young men killed in the prime of their lives, homes and cities destroyed, families left homeless, hungry, and destitute. Think of the land and crops ravaged, historical buildings and archeological sites decimated, natural resources ruined. Think of the possibility of a nuclear weapon being used, even in error, and the retaliation that might provoke resulting in mass death and horrible destruction. Get a book from the library on the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and picture yourself and your family trying to live under those conditions. Picture anyone living in those conditions.
The alternative is prevention by means of peaceful solutions. Even though you and I are very far removed from those who are the movers and shakers in the geopolitical field, we can make an enormous impact in the final outcome of these events. How? Though the use of visualization, prayer and meditation.
Creative visualization, once laughed at by those who labeled it as New Age quackery, is now recognized as useful and meaningful in many fields. Athletes in all fields, especially world class medal winners, practice visualization to see themselves performing perfect movements and achieving their goals. It works splendidly. Visualization is also used by renowned oncologists to help cancer patients visualize the chemotherapy drugs conquering the mutated cancerous cells within. This technique has been used extensively with children who readily understand the technique and use it playfully to “think themselves well”.
In this situation of visualizing world peace, do not even try to see the means to a peaceful solution. In a way, it’s none of our business. The thing to focus on is the final result-peace in every land. See Iraqi people living full and rich lives of peace and plenty, happily shopping, working, learning, and playing with their smiling children. See Israelis and Palestinians occupying the same land in peace, cooperation and tolerance. Visualize all the many countries of Africa with plenty to eat, education for all children, freedom for all people, and understanding between races and religions.
Visualize the people of the planet knowing that they are one, understanding and accepting that we are all made in the image of God regardless of skin color, gender, or religion. See cooperation and free trade among all the countries and governments of the world. See a world in which the welfare of even the smallest child is of the utmost importance to every man, woman, and child. See a world in which love is the favorite four-letter word and violence is unthinkable and a thing of the past.
Above all, see us all working together in a spirit of peace and understanding to repair the damage that has been done to the planet. Visualize our planet as it can be again, clean and pristine with pure water in abundance for all, abundant fields of grains and vegetables, trees groaning with their branches loaded with harvests of fruits and nuts. See clean air, sparkling streams and rivers, prosperity in every home, and an abundance of love and joy in every heart.
I know it sounds too good to be true, and until we can visualize it happening and affirm that this wonderful scenario is manifesting before us now, the outcome of peace and prosperity for all will continue to be the etheric and wispy vision rather than the true reality it can become.
I ask you all to spend time each day in praying and meditating for peace. See the outcome rather than the steps needed to achieve it. Know in your hearts and souls that it is already made manifest and is physically becoming our reality with every breath.
In love and light, I see you in peace and joy.
