Thought for the Week: Peace - A three-piece suite
David Lockyer reflects on peace
The first piece is the deepest, the root from which peace grows; the silence that calms and heals; the point of is-ness when there is no I; no me, no not me; no knowing, no not knowing; no you, no not you; no us, no not us – just pure being and the ground-of-being – the rest point of being in the moment. At one with the in-breath, the drawing-in of all that there is and all we are part of – open and accepting to whatever comes. At one with the out-breath, circulating fully and giving out all that we are. Being without attachment or aversion, as the Buddhists say. Knowing that the attachments and aversions are what distorts and blinds.
The second piece is being at peace with those around you. Being at peace with the small things of life; a peace that begets patience and concern; a ministry of presence for others, wholeheartedly witnessing their being, no matter how small the transaction, no matter how small the moment. Others are not simply instruments to our well-being – they are not background music to our songs. It is together that we are the choir of life. We are each and all witness to each other; we are each and all ministers one to another. It is of the small things of life that the world is woven.
The third piece is that world peace; that of governments and societies; that of renouncing violence as a means, as a political weapon, of not letting war be, as Carl von Clausewitz remarked, ‘a continuation of politics by other means’. It is not the continuation of politics, it is the failure of politics – in fact, the greatest of all its failures.
Having recently visited a country that has been at peace for 200 years, that has not killed or harmed even so much as one person in its name, I cannot but feel shame to come from a country that has not even managed a decade in those 200 years when it has not killed and maimed, has not wrought violence and havoc, has not devastated lives in its name.
This is the three-piece suite of peace – and one on which we could all sit comfortably if we choose.
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.