Peace Begins with Me

I don’t need five hundred words to share with the world the most precious wisdom attained in my lifetime. My message is simple – “Peace begins with me.”

These few words are so simple, yet they contain a message so profound as to be the only key to the utopia our troubled world seeks. Words cannot open doors, but when we receive them with our hearts, we will perceive them with our minds in perfect harmony.

Almost from the time we gain the ability to process thought, we set forth on a journey that takes us further and further away from the beautiful destination we seek. As we mistakenly journey outwards rather than inwards, we begin to feel lost and disorientated. Fear rises within us and we become embroiled in greed, criticism, judgments, hatred, and disquiet. Every aspect of our lives becomes a hurdle to clear and an enemy to fight.

‘If only things were different,’ we scream, as we view the errors of the world and its effects upon us, as our enemies. ‘I could be happy then… I would find peace.’ We believe so strongly that we must find this beautiful state rather than just experiencing – being it – that we frequently miss its serene presence.

Few of us realize that the only enemy any of us have is ourselves. Until we understand that, we can never truly experience peace because that which we are becomes enshrouded so deeply in all that we are not, that peace is prevented from expressing itself. Most of us are not aware that we live our lives in constant fear, the absolute polar opposite to the nature of our own divine essence – the polar opposite to love and peace.

Even within the family unit we squabble and fight, trying to prove ourselves right all the time, trying to gain power over the other. Our constant drive for power is the result of fear – fear that is itself fed by our misguided survival strategies. Unless we are guided away from this mistaken view of ourselves and the world around us, our childlike perceptions follow us into the ‘grown-up’ world.

We cannot change people; the way others think, act or behave. We can’t change the weather or prevent that which has passed, but we can change the world. Everyone’s idea of peace is different but peace is not a concept; it is the reality of our own identity and in accordance to its own nature – cannot exist in the presence of fear. Fear is a powerful, destructive, negative emotion whose energy is fueled by our anticipation of what may happen but probably won’t. Fear can only be regenerated by its own survival. Peace is a beautiful empowering energy that sits within our hearts, always in quiet acceptance of where we are now – at this moment.

That which I am is Peace and is constant. When I am still – I know this. When I am still – I know that Peace begins with me – right now.