The Inward March for Peace

"There is no way to peace, peace is the way." A. J. Muste

I grew up as part of a generation of idealists that marched for social change.  We marched against unjust wars; we marched in opposition to unfairness and to redress inequality for those subjugated by barriers of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Wherever and whenever injustice reared its prejudicial head we took to the streets with signs or candles to bring awareness to the ignorant side of humanity.  In our vision for a liberated humanity, change meant activism.

The question I ask today, from a more integral perspective than I had 30 years ago, is what is the most effective method of achieving beneficial changes in society and in our own personal lives?  While activism was an easy answer in my earlier life, today I pause to consider that response. 

What is different for me today is a realization that my motivation will determine the results of my actions. That is, where I'm coming from will determine where I end up, regardless of my plan of action. I've come to notice that righteousness is not a path to peace, nor is indignation, nor is judgment. No matter how justified I may feel in my disapproval of a situation or an individual, these feelings will, by universal law, only create after their kind, and I'll never get the peace I'm after.  As Einstein noted, you cannot make plans for war, in preparation for peace. 

When we feel conflicted with another person or with a particularly troubling situation, we cannot achieve peace  of mind if it's dependent on a change in events or of another's heart.  If this is our form of activism we will march until our legs fall off and in the end we'll still be upset and confused.  Peace eludes us when we make it dependent on outer conditions. Why is this? Because peace is not the mere absence of discord or conflict but a divine quality that is embedded within us. Peace is seated in the soul.

If I make the mistake of seeking peace as a destination - a place of calm and well being that I'll get to when a certain outcome comes to pass - I will never get there. Finding peace is a deeply personal endeavor, that no-body or no-thing can give me. As an eternal verity of Being, it is not a destination, but a realization.  I must restore awareness of the still point inside of me. I must be still and know. This is the true peace that Jesus referred to when he said, "My peace I leave with you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you."  The world gives us a set of conditions in which peace is possible. Spirit offers peace without condition. 

Today I know that any march for Peace must first be inward, then outward.  When I center myself in the ground of being peace, I am best equipped to take up the causes that stir me to action.