Planting Seeds of Peace within Ourselves

We find ourselves in difficult times, but throughout history, there has always been human suffering. Now, however, its in our face all the time, and if you have an open heart, it is hard to bear the tragedies befalling so many of our brothers and sisters around the world.
The worst thing we can do however, is despair and feel hopeless.

You are a powerful force of light and love in this world. If you feel called to take action, do it- volunteer, donate money or goods, support organizations that align with your values. But also remember that your energy and what you put in the world is equally as important.

Cultivate your intention toward peace within yourself. Your words and actions matter. Look into your own shadow self and see where violence, judgment, and anger reside in your own life. What is happening in the world is a reflection of what lives within each of us.

In order for someone to harm another, there is a part of the self that separates that person as “the other”. Othering happens through our judgments and stories that we tell about someone else. We make them out to be the enemy, we place them within a hierarchy of importance. Look for where you do this in your life. It might be as simple as being rude to the store clerk because they are taking too long. In this situation, we have judged them as below us, and deemed ourselves worthy of better service, therefore we treat them with anger.

Be careful too of identifying with the “us” vs. “them” mentality. This is a form of tribalism, and this is where war begins. Remember that when we demonize the “them”, we are shutting down any possibility for peace in ourselves. The anger churns in us, and it grows, ultimately robbing us of our equinamity. They too are human beings worthy of our compassion and love. I found this hard for myself during some of the recent election cycles. I was very aligned one side of the political spectrum and felt a lot of hatred and judgement towards the other. These emotions were very strong in myself. I saw too how these emotions were playing out on a larger scale within families and communities, tearing people apart. It was heartbreaking. I had to do a lot of work to come back to our shared humanity. I had to remember that each person’s perspective and ideas are a reflection of their collective life circumstances, just as my ideas are a culmination of my life experience and influences.

What would it be like to see everyone you around as yourself, as your beloved child, worthy of compassion, patience and kindness? The revered Buddhist teacher Thich Nat Hahn, has a beautiful practice that is helpful when I find myself in judgement of another. He says to remember “I am pointing to myself.” Each of us is doing the best we can on our soul journey with the circumstances we have been given. Do not take someone else’s behavior personally and remember that they are moving through life’s difficulties the same as you. This is how we begin to plant the seeds of peace within ourselves. As we practice rooting out our judgement towards others, we will see these seeds blossom in ourselves, in our relationships, our communities and hopefully one day, in the world.