The Path to Peace Takes Small Steps

We see it all around us every day; violence, anger, hatred, they all are commonplace it seems. The media pumps us full of negative news every day and we feed on it like rabid animals, and our perception changes as a result. We all get caught up in it, and we start to feel hopeless. The loss of lives due to gun violence captivates us and confuses us. We don't know what the answers are. Political disagreements catapult us into divisive arguments and lines are drawn. It seems like everywhere we turn there is more darkness than light. Is there any hope for our communities, our cities, our states, or our country? If there is, how do we get back on track? Do we wait for a government program? Do we wait for our economy to turn around, and jobs to return? Do we wait for a political change? Do we wait for tomorrow or the next day? The problem, I feel, is that we are all waiting. We all seem to be collectively holding our breath waiting for something, anything, to happen to turn things around. While we've been waiting, doesn't it seem like things have gotten worse and not better? Maybe it's because we all got out of the game and moved ourselves to the sidelines and became spectators. On the sidelines we've become angry fans, unhappy with the the unsportsmanlike conduct of our team and our players. But as fans all we have power to do is yell and shout, we aren't active participants. Instead we just watch in frustration because we're powerless to do anything so we do the only thing we can do, we get angry.

We need peace, but we can't wait for someone else to bring it to us.

I honestly believe our path back to peace is a series of small steps each of us have to make in our individual lives. It's about us taking care of us, one step at a time. What if we all participated? What we don't realize is that millions of people all taking small steps to improve their personal lives, all moving in the same direction, sounds like and feels like a great army moving into place to conquer the faction that it's threatened by. It's like the scene in Lord of the Rings when the trees were all moving toward the battle, they were slow in their movement but graceful and powerful, and above all else effective.

As we move gracefully toward a place of peace in our lives, the blood starts pumping again and we begin to grow. We move from a stagnation and into an active role, first in our own lives where many of us have lost so much. We need peace, but we can't wait for someone else to bring it to us. Our actions are investment into the very peace we need. It's like life-giving air. We need to find it, search for it, and we have to do it now. Spectatorship isn't leading us toward peace. As we take the small steps toward peace we are not only improving our individual lives but improving the lives of those who we are in contact with every day. Our children, our siblings, our parents, our co-workers, our neighbors, they all get to consume the positive things that are happening in our lives.

The path to peace is taken with small steps. It begins with one step, and then another, and then another. It's not a race, it's not even a marathon. It's a strategic mission, each step has to be calculated before taking it. Each step has to be planned, and then executed. The small steps begin to take us to another place, and then another place, and then another place. For each person those steps are different and personal and pertinent to our own lives. For some, that first step might be turning off the television and getting up off the couch. From there, survey your surroundings. What is the condition of your surroundings? What needs to change? It will take courage for some of you just to be honest with yourself about the condition of your life. What small step can you take today to move into a more peaceful and positive place? Is it an apology to someone you hurt a long time ago, is it small gift to someone who might feel insignificant? It could be a gift to a stranger, just to remind yourself how valuable it is to do nice things for other people. Nothing is too small or too insignificant, because we need to remember that if we all do it we are making big changes. They're no longer small or insignificant.

Move with desperation toward a place of peace

I'm still encouraged by a gift given to me by a stranger a couple of months ago. It made my day, and gave me hope that there are nice, thoughtful people in this world. It made me want to do something nice for someone else too, for no other reason than to allow someone else to feel the same way I did. I hope it is contagious, I hope we all take the steps toward peace that we all seem to need in our lives so desperately. Move with desperation toward a place of peace, it's better than where you've been and there's no way something positive could return void in your life. Peace reaps peace, and our world needs more of it. Pass it around and make this world a better place!