Inner Wisdom
Seeking Peace
by Christina Grant, PhD
Most everyone I know feels drawn to the idea of peace – inner peace, a peaceful home, a peaceful country, a peaceful world. But what does it take to have it? As we all know, peace isn’t an easy goal. Wars and invasions have pre-
vailed in the world throughout his- tory. In order for this to be the case, I think the majority of people who live on the planet are at war within themselves. How could it be any other way? If we have mini-wars within us,
what do we do about them? This is an important question for all suc- cessful peacemakers. If you be- lieve, like I do, that inner conflict ultimately leads to wars in the world, then doing our own inner housekeeping is the most powerful way we can contribute to plane- tary peace. The noble goal of seeking a
more peaceful environment in- cludes fostering serenity and har- mony in our innermost selves. If each of us maintained our own serenity, we would never consider invading or harming another per- son or “tribe.” It wouldn’t even oc- cur to us.
28 ADistinctive style
Harboring hostilities, even the
tiny ones we pretend we don’t have, creates an ideal environ- ment for conflict. Even the annoy- ances we feel toward others – their attitudes or opposing beliefs, their mannerisms and expressions, the things they might say or do, the way they drive – have the opposite effect of what most of us really want, which is peace. So what would it look like to
cultivate an inner sense of peace in a way that promotes external peace? We would begin by taking responsibility for our feelings. We are a society addicted to blaming others for our own unwanted cir- cumstances. We wouldn’t do this anymore. Instead, we would work through disturbing thoughts and emotions, refusing to fling them out into the world the way we some- times do. Instead of taking oppor- tunities to express our hostilities to- ward others, we would express them constructively (exercise, jour- naling, singing, dancing, releasing the sounds of hostility in healing ways). And we might even think about cultivating compassion and understanding for our own suffer- ing.
“If we could read the secret his-
tory of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suf- fering enough to disarm all hostil- ity.”
This quote by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow appears to reveal our
lack of awareness that each per- son’s pain is not unlike our own pain. When we can see that the person who just drove past us like a maniac, or our rude co-worker, or our angry partner is actually in some sort of pain (otherwise there wouldn’t be the aggression) then we can begin to understand, “Ah, this person is suffering. It is not about me. Perhaps the best thing I can do in this moment is offer them compassion, for their suffering is not unlike my own.” What people need most of all
is compassion for their ignorance and the way they inadvertently hurt others. So maybe you will join me on a
quest for peace. But let’s not just talk about it or march for it or won- der why it hasn’t happened yet. Let’s actually cultivate it within our- selves. In this way no matter what happens in our world we can know our own role has been to actively promote peace.
Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer and spiritual counselor who works in per- son and by phone. She has helped hun- dreds of people attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being through personal transformation. Her writing is published nationwide. She is co-author of Eight Minute Muse and is completing a book with a fresh perspective on women’s health.
www.christinagrant.com
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