Living in Peace on the Pagan Path
click for more discussions fromThe Pagan View thru the eyes of RavenHarte
How do we cultivate a climate of peace? It’s obvious that the masses want it. Go into any clothing or accessories store of late and you will feel thrown back into the 60's with the myriad day-glow colored peace signs and symbols of love. Our society is SICK TO DEATH of war, of anger, of the energy it’s taking us to keep up this big bully attitude when none of us really wanted to be the big bully anyway. So how do we change that? Well, Gandhi says that “we must be the change we want to see in the world”. So the first step is you…. Me….. all of us. In Wiccan traditions there is a poem called “The Charge of the Goddess” by Doreen Valiente which contains a profound line: “If that which thou seekest thou not findest within thee, thou will never find it without thee”. This means to me in this context that if you don’t already have the peace you seek within you, you can’t possible see it outside of you, can’t cultivate it from others, can’t bring it about in the world. One cannot give what they don’t already have.
So how do we find the peace within? I believe a good start would be to STOP trying to keep up with the Joneses. We are a spoiled nation. Ridiculously spoiled, and we constantly want more. We are a society of dysfunctional people with abundant material possessions, yet maintain serious social issues and relationship disorders. Instead of learning how to love our children, spending time with them, listening to them and nurturing their minds and hearts, we throw toys & video games at them to compensate for the job at which we are already spending way too many hours just in order to be able to throw things at them. Instead of cultivating communicative and affectionate partnerships with our mates, we constantly spend time “out”, and then blame each other for the bills we have piling up. How can we possibly have peace in our world, if we don’t even have it within our own homes? Homes that are huge compared to the rest of the world, by the way, palaces in comparison by some standards.
So I think in order to cultivate peace in the world, we first must figure out how to stop chasing what we don’t really need, and start wanting the things that are truly essential. We have to learn to look around ourselves in constant amazement at what we actually have: our homes, jobs, family, friends. Not everyone is so lucky. In fact you probably know someone personally who has so much less than you do, who would give anything to have even a portion of what you have. We have to stop constantly looking for the next great thing, the BBD (bigger better deal) because that’s a never ending cycle of stress and disappointment. There is no peace there people.
When we can find our own peace, only then can we spread that out to our family and friends. First we have to live by example, showing others we value what gives us peace. We have to reject competing with material things. We have to resist comparing ourselves to others but rather show others that we are secure in what and who we are. By our example, others will be influenced to chose things that bring peace into their lives, too. We can applaud the person who takes the day off of work to take their family to the zoo. We can chose to NOT flatter our neighbor’s 2nd brand new car when we know they are working 60 hr work weeks to have it. We can encourage a friend to keep up with their yoga class, or choral group. We can discourage already busy friends from adding new social engagements to their calendars. We all see the ways our friends and family are wearing themselves thin. We can encourage them not to, or HELP THEM not to.
Peace is actually as contagious a concept as war, its just not as profitable for the powers that be. So do we become a part of the machine or do we just stop and say no? I mean, no one wants to be amongst people who radiate peace and not be peaceful themselves. So it is up to us as individuals to find peace within, radiate that peace when we can find it, and then surround ourselves with other peaceful people. Eventually the circle will grow. All we have to do is trust that it will.
So how do we find the peace within? I believe a good start would be to STOP trying to keep up with the Joneses. We are a spoiled nation. Ridiculously spoiled, and we constantly want more. We are a society of dysfunctional people with abundant material possessions, yet maintain serious social issues and relationship disorders. Instead of learning how to love our children, spending time with them, listening to them and nurturing their minds and hearts, we throw toys & video games at them to compensate for the job at which we are already spending way too many hours just in order to be able to throw things at them. Instead of cultivating communicative and affectionate partnerships with our mates, we constantly spend time “out”, and then blame each other for the bills we have piling up. How can we possibly have peace in our world, if we don’t even have it within our own homes? Homes that are huge compared to the rest of the world, by the way, palaces in comparison by some standards.
So I think in order to cultivate peace in the world, we first must figure out how to stop chasing what we don’t really need, and start wanting the things that are truly essential. We have to learn to look around ourselves in constant amazement at what we actually have: our homes, jobs, family, friends. Not everyone is so lucky. In fact you probably know someone personally who has so much less than you do, who would give anything to have even a portion of what you have. We have to stop constantly looking for the next great thing, the BBD (bigger better deal) because that’s a never ending cycle of stress and disappointment. There is no peace there people.
When we can find our own peace, only then can we spread that out to our family and friends. First we have to live by example, showing others we value what gives us peace. We have to reject competing with material things. We have to resist comparing ourselves to others but rather show others that we are secure in what and who we are. By our example, others will be influenced to chose things that bring peace into their lives, too. We can applaud the person who takes the day off of work to take their family to the zoo. We can chose to NOT flatter our neighbor’s 2nd brand new car when we know they are working 60 hr work weeks to have it. We can encourage a friend to keep up with their yoga class, or choral group. We can discourage already busy friends from adding new social engagements to their calendars. We all see the ways our friends and family are wearing themselves thin. We can encourage them not to, or HELP THEM not to.
Peace is actually as contagious a concept as war, its just not as profitable for the powers that be. So do we become a part of the machine or do we just stop and say no? I mean, no one wants to be amongst people who radiate peace and not be peaceful themselves. So it is up to us as individuals to find peace within, radiate that peace when we can find it, and then surround ourselves with other peaceful people. Eventually the circle will grow. All we have to do is trust that it will.
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