Peace Workers Wanted

The work is priceless

The universe is always inviting us into ourselves. Currently, it is extending a beautiful invitation for us to explore our truths. Many people have a new set of rules now.

Marry someone who you can be confined with for two months. Always be your child’s teacher. Take time for yourself, and appreciate the outdoors. Save for a rainy day. Many people have come to understand that their lives were out of synch with their values. They realize that they had not chosen consciously. They chose culturally.

Many people have come to understand that their lives were out of synch with their values. They realize that they had not chosen consciously. They chose culturally.

We have come face to face with our cultural demons. The norms that have been set are not working for the majority of people. We were trained to focus on differences and prepared to defend.

Power Up

Our brains are saturated with images of power, fame, and fortune, and we are enticed to place ourselves into the picture. Resisting the cultural overdose on power, materialism, and ego inflation challenges the human need for social acceptance.

Power and influence are seductresses and often take us away from caring. First, we just want to take care of our family. Fair enough. Then we want to protect our investment in our family. Oh, right, we need to think about our generations to come. The thirst is insatiable.

Before we know it, we are living in subtle fear with an ‘us versus them’ mentality. The personal power we develop is based on competition and conflict. It feeds our ego, but not our soul. Power without peace torments the soul.

Choosing Peace

We must train ourselves for peace. Peace is heart work that is reflected by how we treat people who come into our path. Internal peace requires a willingness to see, hear, and understand others in a way that reflects positive value. We are all connected.

If you are looking for a shift in your life to give more meaning to your accomplishments, focus on peace. Allow the pursuit of peace to simplify your life by releasing what does not cultivate inner harmony. Release what interrupts peace instead of trying to control it.

Looking inside

Internal peace requires self-exploration to examine the ideologies, wounding experiences, and separatist beliefs that elicit patterned defensive reactions. Peace is the audacity to live without fear as a decision-maker.

When you design a life of peace, your protection comes from the force of energy that you cultivate by touching the hearts of so many others. When you point one finger toward love, you have four pointing back at you. As Jimmy Hendrix advocated, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” You will know peace.

We Are Here to Evolve

You have been trained for war. Now, is the time to train for peace. I invite you out of that space where you rely on a small demographic of people to bring valid knowledge about the world and trust it without question.

Your understanding of self, others, and the world don’t have to be confined to gender, race, religion, family, education, or empirical evidence. Your willingness to negotiate the complexity of the world will offer clarity and guidance that yields peace.

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” — Jimmy Hendricks

The world is not full of opposites and enemies, such as male and female. The world is full of experiences, each valid within their own right. Love and hate can exist in the same nebulous space. People can have their bravest moments in the face of fear. Every ending is a beginning.

Question the mind’s temptation to simplify. Refuse to play along with the outdated evolutionary scripts designed for the prediction of threat. Participate in writing new terms of engagement.

Be neither a fighter nor a fixer

Peace workers work on themselves. They are neither fixers nor fighters. They are listeners. They are active in conversation in a way that shows support. They seek to make connections in their role as the listener. Three dynamic responses signify peace work.

Peace workers offer empathy. People in pain share their struggles and challenges because they are hoping for understanding. Peace workers let people know that a personal connection has been made. The connection is reflected in their language.

• I’m sorry that happened to you.
• Thank you for sharing that with me. I imagine that it was difficult.
• I appreciate you trusting me.
• You don’t deserve this pain.

Peace workers show vulnerability instead of pitying the other person. They lean into the conversation with emotion instead of hovering around the edge as an expert.

• I have felt that way before.
• When I experienced that, I didn’t know what to do.
• That sounds like how I felt when X happened to me.
• I might have been in your shoes if X.

Peace workers change the world, not the victim. Peace workers do not evaluate the world from a perspective of privilege. They can validate the pain of others without assuming responsibility. They can assume some responsibility for change without acceptance of guilt. They can accept part of the blame without becoming defensive.

• I hope you have people to talk to about this important issue.
• This should never happen to anyone, especially you. I’m sorry.
• I wish we were doing more to prevent this behavior.
• Unfortunately, there is a pattern of this unacceptable behavior in the workplace/home/church.

The Biggest Winner

Peace work is about making peace with ourselves. When we let go of the need to fix or fight, we are left with opportunities for growth. When I can hear you without fixing you, I can see our commonalities. I can accept my vulnerability.

When I stop fighting, I can feel my heart open to living without fear. I can be present in every moment that I trust the universe to work on my behalf. I become the watcher and learner. The benefit is internal peace. The cost is priceless.

References

Baowei (2020). Thought patterns that make bad decisions. Illumination on Medium. https://readmedium.com/thought-patterns-that-make-bad-decisions-1ae7b2fa8ecb

Rosennab (2020). Releasing unhealthy attachments. Illumination on Medium. https://readmedium.com/releasing-unhealthy-attachments-1250f673668c

Julia E Hubbel (2020). Are you aging way too fast? Illumination on Medium. https://readmedium.com/are-you-aging-way-too-fast-308429abac4e