A Full Embrace Excluding Nothing - Finding Peace Within

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A Full Embrace Excluding Nothing

Finding Peace Within

If we are to have true peace in this world, each one of us must find it in

ourselves first.

Most people agree that a more peaceful world would be an ideal situation for all

living creatures. However, we often seem stumped as to how to bring this ideal

situation into being. If we are to have true peace in this world, each one of us

must find it in ourselves first. If we don't like ourselves, for example, we

probably won't like those around us. If we are in a constant state of inner

conflict, then we will probably manifest conflict in the world. If we have

fighting within our families, there can be no peace in the world. We must shine

the light of inquiry on our internal struggles, because this is the only place

we can really create change.

When we initiate the process of looking inside ourselves for the meaning of

peace, we will begin to understand why it has always been so difficult to come

by. This in itself will enable us to be compassionate toward the many people in

the world who find themselves caught up in conflicts both personal and

universal. We may have an experience of peace that we can call up in ourselves

to remind us of what we want to create, but if we are human we will also feel

the pull in the opposite direction—the desire to defend ourselves, to keep what

we feel belongs to us, to protect our loved ones and our cherished ideals, and

the anger we feel when threatened. This awareness is important because we cannot

truly know peace until we understand the many tendencies and passions that

threaten our ability to find it. Peace necessarily includes, even as it

transcends, all of our primal energy, much of which has been expressed in ways

that contradict peace.

Being at peace with ourselves is not about denying or rejecting any part of

ourselves. On the contrary, in order to be at peace we must be willing and able

to hold ourselves, in all our complexity, in a full embrace that excludes

nothing. This is perhaps the most difficult part for many of us, because we want

so much to disown the negative aspects of our humanity. Ironically, though, true

peace begins with a willingness to take responsibility for our humanity so that

we might ultimately transform it in the light of our love.