Peace
For everything we desire in life, we must give up something
else. What is the price we are willing
to pay for peace?
Some of us dream of running off to a desert island, leaving
behind all our trials, woes and poor me”s”; but we cannot find peace by running
away from life in some geographical fantasy.
Others of us are willing to let the world have its way with us. We acquiesce to others’ demands,
manipulations, and even rumors in order to avoid conflict and
confrontation. But even when we carefully
choose our issues, the avoidance of “trouble” does not result in peace.
Where, then, can we find peace? The source of our peace lies within. It is an inner strength that transcends the
circumstances of our lives. Peace is
found within or it is not found at all.
When acceptance becomes more important than honesty, we have sacrificed
our integrity. Somehow our egos always have
a seductive way of governing our behavior, leaving us feel compromised, empty,
and alone.
On the other hand, we are so used to going after what we
want that even peace becomes a quest. It
is a surprise to discover that peace comes, not as a result of what we can get
hold of, but a result of letting go - letting go of the illusion that we
ultimately control our lives and the lives of others - that by controlling the
image we present to the world, we can control what others think of us, or even
what they do.
Certainly, we make decisions and choices about what we will
or will not do, but in final analysis we are not in control of the
outcome. If we can learn to get out of
our own way, we have a chance at peace.
Our ego-driven willfulness does violence to the peace that would be ours
if only we would let go of our preoccupation.
Peace does not come from the removal of external problems,
but rather from the realization that the problems are temporal, while our inner
self participates in eternity and lives with the Infinite, who is always with
us through our trials and tribulations.
James K. Bogert
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