War and Peace: A moment of choice

As we witness the unfolding horrific and sad situation in Palestine and Israel, many of us are feeling helpless; simply watching what is happening, having no control over the situation. Some of us are able to protest, with the hope that governments can interfere and stop this war. Some of us had taken a stand of one side or the other. Do any of the words oppression, anger, helplessness, advocacy, sadness, victimhood, humanity speak to you during these times? If so, please continue reading.

The outer world is a manifestation of our inner world. Where there is inner conflict, there is outwardly violence and aggression. Violence comes in many forms, from the gross killings to the subtle act of hurt by speech, or even subtler by thoughts. This violence is an expression of our inner conflict. We accept this but not that. We want this but not that. We tolerate this but not that. 

This conflict manifests in how we organize our outside world. We have separated ourselves into nations, drew geographical boundaries, we have taken sides based on my family, my tribe, my village, my city, my religion, my belief, my country, my, my ,my…. Which also means there is ‘mine’ versus ‘his/ hers/ theirs’. We have isolated ourselves based on this division. Sometimes our isolation includes a circle of family or friends, sometimes it is me and my partner, and sometimes it is me only.

What then?!

Do you see the pattern here?!

I have an inner conflict, I want something but what is is something else.  I do not know how to deal with what is, and I do not know how to deal with how I am feeling. I look for something outside of me to help me cope with how I feel. I use what is outside to distract me from this suffering. It seems to work for a while. I rely on my beliefs, I rely on my friend, family, job, possession, etc. to keep me distracted and have this temporary sense of relief.

When the temporary relief comes to an end, what then?!

This is in a way the story we have told ourselves for a while. We wrote documents about human rights, we created social systems, political systems, institutions of many sorts, etc. And when the latest war events in Palestine and Israel took place, and we saw the ugly side of humanity, we saw that the systems we have built are not working. If there were human rights, people will not be killed, because they are valued. If our systems and organizations were effective, then we would have been able to stop the war.

The outer world is a reflection of our inner conflict. How can man create a prosperous world if his/ her inner world is in conflict?!

This is the inner work that we individually need to do. I invite you to look deep within. Take a moment, each moment, as a moment of choice. A choice to be who you really are, because who you really are is peace, is love. This love that heals our wounds, our suffering, our conflicts.

We are forever presented with one choice, a choice between seeing the truth of who we are, and of ignorance and distraction. A choice to resolve our inner conflict, our inner war, right now, here in this moment. Here in this moment, to realize who we are, to realize truth, to be at peace, to be love.