Ramblings - First published February 2022
Ramblings from David
February 2022
Peace
With regard to the subject of peace, there are many works, yet many of them seem distant from each other in their premise. The subject of peace, which would appear to be the unifying quality, is clearly a subject where different voices, from different backgrounds, understand peace to be of a nature that differs.
Albert Einstein said, “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”
Maha Ghosananda, looking at peace from a very different place from Einstein, said, “When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world.”
Aristotle spoke about peace saying, “It is more difficult to organize peace than to win a war; but the fruits of victory will be lost if the peace is not well organized.” This very much reflects his views about ‘State’ assuming a management of the population; where the absence of war will have an inevitable consequence of peace. If the absence of something would ever guarantee peace is far from certain, other than the term being used as a functional description of not being in conflict. Peace, at the deeper and richer level is a lot more.Here are a few questions just to consider:
- Peace. An elusive commodity for which many desires are driven and countless dreams are made?
- Peace. A natural state of existence?
- Peace. A fabric of life that fills a person, a space and a place?
- Peace. A state of the absence of that which is not welcome?
- Peace. An experience of God and the world that is beyond understanding?
- Peace. A natural state of being that people deny themselves, and others, due to unsavoury acts and ill thought ambition?
- Peace – the absence of anything that may cause a person to become agitated prior to a thought or action
- Peace. Humanities achievement only where trust is the foundation?
There are various dictionary definitions of peace which are centred around a freedom from disturbance resulting in, and/or, maintaining a state of tranquillity. Merriam-Webster define peace as:
- a state of tranquillity or quiet. Such as: (a) freedom from civil disturbance. - (b) a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom.
- freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
- harmony in personal relationships
- (a)a state or period of mutual concord between governments. - (b) a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity .
A comprehensive definition of peace has always proved difficult for philosophers. Attempts to do so invariably overlap with other areas of philosophical contention, such as what is the meaning of existence. What is generally agreed upon is that a discussion can differentiate between ‘negative peace’ and positive peace. Negative peace is seen as the absence of violence and war, whereas positive peace is often seen as harmonious relations and the presence of justice. Before the end of this Ramblings I will, in part, be challenging these broad precepts, with what I believe is quite a simple point.
Although an exact definition of what peace is remains a subject of debate, it has not stopped the human collective in aspiring to establish ‘peace’ as a global standard, underpinning all human interactions. UNESCO was created in 1945, primarily as a response to the World Wars, to establish peace based on the morality of humanity’s solidarity. It had been recognised that political and economic agreements alone were not enough to build a lasting peace.
“Peace is more than the absence of war, it is living together with our differences – of sex, race, language, religion or culture – while furthering universal respect for justice and human rights on which such coexistence depends.” The Director-General of UNESCO
In the same way others have tried, UNESCO offered a definition of peace against which their work is based. At the end of the 1990’s, UNESCO declared the following:
- Peace is reverence for life.
- Peace is the most precious possession of humanity.
- Peace is more than the end of armed conflict.
- Peace is a mode of behaviour.
- Peace is a deep-rooted commitment to the principles of liberty, justice, equality and solidarity among all human beings.
- Peace is also a harmonious partnership of humankind with the environment.
Peace is not simply a product of actions bolted together in a socio-political setting. It is a quality that exists and can dwell in many places; those places are rarely where those who seek it, insist a battle, or angst, is demanded before ‘peace’ can be claimed to have entered.
The former spiritual adviser to Barack Obama, and author, Jim Wallis, is quoted as saying, “Anyone can love peace, but Jesus didn't say, "Blessed are the peace-lovers." He says peacemakers. He is referring to a life vocation, not a hobby on the sidelines of life.”
I’m sure Mr Wallis is very keen to enforce what he believes to be the ‘Word’ but he is wholly wrong to cast derision upon those who truly love peace. The end point of his argument would imply that the peacemakers Jesus spoke of did not love peace. Love the peace, wherever and whenever you feel it; the pain of a conflict, the tearing of an argument will be reduced or even become no more.
Its often said that a writer should write about something they know. It is with some uncertainty that I make a claim to be able to write about peace. In the same way a person can write about the relief of fresh water after being lost in the desert; an experience that would not have been chosen, but to have survived means a story can be told. Peace - it was never something I thought I’d ever be without until disaster struck my life. All that I knew as my normal ways, were taken from me by a series of criminal acts. Without any anchor of normality, I found total chaos and helplessness. With no recourse to the law and no help for the basic and fundamental things, that a modern society so prides itself upon, all avenues appeared closed. Year after year disappeared and the wonders I use to know, and enjoyed celebrating, helping other people with, were slowly being shadowed by isolation and lack of ability to grab life. It felt like all was lost but I knew that I still had God with me. He could not take away the events and injuries in a blink of an eye but the word miracle, by every measure, describes what I have experienced.
Despite years of existing in a desolate place, God remained and I found a Peace. A peace that seems almost impossible to describe; I could not point to a thing, or event, in the world in front of me to be able to say, Yes, that’s the reason why I feel this at this point. The journey had been largely impossible to tell others about and to gain any true companionship(...especially,
after such a long time, the right lady to know as a partner.) The journey I have had, the path I endured, the peace I have known and the miracle I have been saved by, can not be told to everyone. The Peace however, no matter how far the words in this piece may fall short of the true essence of the story, is apparently something that I feel to others in a tangible way. In the last few years, the increasingly repeated comment from people I meet in my day to day life, is that I feel peaceful. The peace seems to be something that I feel and others in some way experience it. I know God is with me and wants me to be found by the right people with whom I can flourish. The Peace is like the word of God, unspoken by me in a way that I understand, but it speaks to others.
There you are. Not sure what else to say about that other than the following are some passages, that may serve to give a texture, to the thing that is beyond my abilities to give a complete understanding to.
A word so welcome in the discussion of ‘being’ – Peace – a perfect peace. Where lie the qualities that bring such a state for the handle of certainty to declare that it defines the ‘now’?
Is peace in nature a blanket that covers, all seasons as one, no difference to the others, OR is there a moment in each occasion defined, that makes each rising unique – designed?
What is Peace? Possibly the biggest of the questions in this discussion but oddly, it is the one that is best left unscrutinised, if amidst the moment of enjoying a sublime peace. It is all too easy to leave the moment and find the pristine nature of the experience is reduced. A child laughing is rarely as happy after a ‘grown up’ stops them, and out of curiosity, asks a sincere and serious question, “Why are you so happy?” The moment is taken by an attempt to apply intellectual understanding.
While fighting for it – it isn’t
While defending it – it’s not
When loving it – it’s yours to enjoy
Peaceful ways, joyful minds, dynamic drives. There is peace with textures and flavours. The peace of the climber enjoying the thrill of success. The peace of the neighbour, knowing the support of those around. The peace of lovers bonding their moments. The peace of spring and the bird song in the dawn.
Oh what to write about the subject of peace. Its qualities, its nature, hold a place that is, at its essence, near beyond description; as though the house of God can be described with certainty in a muse of words – a murmuring of definitive prose.
Such an urge, to elaborate at a time of sublime peace, is to near always take from you the crux of the moment that excels. There are times however when words are the vessel, blessed by God, that will be sure to find harbours of still waters, with depths for all who are to be privy to the sentiment.
Blessed words, create blessed moments. The word of God is carried in the words that are special and the words we choose to hold as special in true reverence. Those who hear the word, will see the word and know the peace that brings to them. The peace of God is beyond all understanding, but it is not beyond celebrating – In joy you can find freedom where there is a peace without fear.
What is Peace? Where does it reside? In you, in part of you? In the space that lies all around? In the fabric of life? In the minds of others?
A peaceful person. Do they feel peaceful to others. Does a peaceful person have an impact upon the physical space they are in?
The definitions of peace define the moments at which the term is considered appropriate to apply. This ‘Peace’ however is nothing as an assessment of what has gone, if the consideration of the future, the near and long view, is clear of the vagaries which were instrumental in denying the peace.
“There is no possible way all possible futures can be settled before peace can enter,” shouts one.
“There is the love of God. He will make the peace with all futures, seen at that time and even beyond, as one, where there is a beauty that will not fall.” added another.
Peace – the presence of it can not be solely an end to what has gone, yet there is a peace of a type that is beyond explanation – a peace that can fill a moment, a person, a place, within which only the here and now is known. In some places and times, it is the most apparent peace of all; almost beyond belief – without defining measure.
There is a peace in the world. A peace that can be enjoyed by all life, respected and honoured. Only a few, especially people, have misunderstood some key signals from life, that if understood, most would stand in reverence and act appropriately in response. It is a blessing, a state, a fabric of God and the life that exists all around.
The Bible tells us the peace of God surpasses all understanding. Attempts to describe it use words such as calmness and harmony of body and mind, tranquillity, trusting, having unchallenged faith in the love of God. It is a different type of peace than the peace you might, for example, experience when you are shown support or camaraderie in a resolute circle of trust. This is not to say that God is not at the centre of that also, but there are either different types of peace, or different tones of one peace.
Earlier in this Ramblings I said I would challenge, in part, some of the precepts common in the discussion of peace. The discussions of peace are very much focused on the human experience. Debates about a negative peace and a positive peace largely assume that peace is an experience people have. As you may have already realised, through this item, I am also looking at the actual nature of the peace that is experienced; not just the route, or mechanism, from which the human-centric peace is seen to have arisen. Peace can be made, it exists, it can grow, and reside in places. Humans, humanity, play their part in this but they are not the only aspects of life and existence that make what would be experienced as peace.
Consider this. In a world where peace is defined by men, how would the many definitions stand up to a world absent of humans? Would peace cease to exist?
People can make peace but they are not the only things in existence that make it. Peace can be found in some of the most unlikely situations. At the deep level, the intrinsic nature of peace is a mystery. Regardless of the cause, no matter how large or small the occasions are, where peace is experienced by a person, it still comes down to the experience within. A warrior who valiantly rids the world of a tyranny and sees the world he knows, is no longer under threat, still needs to have those places, deep within, in a way where they can be untroubled, to be able to fully enjoy the peace. He may need to experience the peace of true friendships, the peace of the World and the peace of God, for those inner places to be soothed so that peace is able to dwell. It is in the truest sense, the moments of experiencing peace and allowing that peace to grow, that can fill others in the places that allow them to see a world where peace can shine within. Whether you are alone on a deserted island, or living amidst the millions, the experience of peace within, is the driving force of the world you see and experience, being in tune with a rhythm of life. It is an act of trust, an act of faith and most definitely, an act of love.
Peace be with...
Previous ramblings can be found in the archive. For last months, click the link: January 2022 Ramblings
