This morning I spent almost three hours sitting on a log in our Black Fox Hollow. Three things consumed my time. First, I was admiring the beauty and tranquility of the hollow and noticing how plants we have brought here to survive are doing well. Secondly I was taking pictures and posting them to Instagram to share the marvels of nature and to offer pictures of beauty and peace in a social network filled with violence, death and miserabilis culus politicians. Thirdly I was desperately seeking peace. I was searching for peace, an all-consuming desire, in a time when greed, death, violence and destruction seem to reign supreme.
What is peace? Where do we find peace? How do we find peace? Is there really such a thing as peace?
Modern homo sapiens are such domesticated herd animals that we make sheep and cows look like independent thinkers. Capitalists tell us that we will find peace and happiness if we just work more hours and spend more money. Do you believe that? That just makes them richer and me more tired and more in debt.
Religion has been promising peace for thousands of years. As recent as the last millenium, all you had to do was believe and do everything you're told, kill something to prove your loyalty and give your first-born son to serve in the church. Today the major religions don't generally expect your first-born but many do expect you to kill the other guy (Moslems, Jews, Christians, etc.). They all expect total obedience and your money and then you can have peace. If you don't find peace it is because you didn't really believe strongly enought or pray hard enough. It couldn't be that the religion is totally groundless and serving the purpose of an elite few. Naw. That could never be the case.
Government will tell you . . . aw, who knows what the hell government will tell you. It depends upon what the governing elite want at any given moment. If they want to pollute your drinking water with their leaky pipeline, they'll tell you that allowing the pipeline will make you happy and give you peace because you'll have cheap gasoline for your car. The current Culus Primus of the US just wants to be a god and/or have all the marbles, whichever comes first. So he'll tell you that you can know peace and prosperity when you give him total power, your total allegiance, and be willing to die for the economy, which just happens to benefit him, not you.
Oh, I could go on and on, but I really did start this essay with the goal of exploring how one might find peace. It is obvious that for the elite of the population 'peace' is a commodity or, at the least, a carrot to be held out in front of us to get us to do their bidding.
Meriam-Webster Dictionary has four definitions of peace of which only two relate to individuals: (1) a state of tranquility or quiet such as freedom from civil disturbance. (2) freedom from disquieting or oppressive emotions or thoughts (3) Harmony in a relationship. (4) A treaty between two governments.
Number one made me immediately think, 'okay, let Culus Primus have his way, work 60+ hours a week and still not make ends meet, and keep his precious economy going and we will have freedom from civil disturbance. ' Yes, and tell those trouble-makers who want things like civil rights, a clean environment and a truly representative government to shut up. Then we'll have peace. Who buys this? It also made me think of a Juddi Krishnamurti quote: "It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoudly sick society."
I like number two; viz. freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts and emotions. This, I believe, is what I'm looking for as I do walking meditation around the Black Fox Hollow trail.
Before we go any farther, l know someone is itching to tell me that life 'isn't a bowl of cherries' and that we can't always have freedom from disquieting or opressive emotions or thoughts. I can't agree more. Here I'm going to add that famous (and sometimes infamous) conjunction "but". But we can do very, very, very much better. Things like health issues, dying (a real downer), and relationships with friends and loved ones are going to have disquieting thoughts and emotions no matter what we do. My first thought is I could sure use some freedom from the disquieting and opressive thoughts like: what is my government going to do next to destroy the environment and wilderness I love? what is my government going to do next that will immediately or eventually kill me? what is my government going to do next to take away any security I've earned and give my money to their rich employers? and what is my government going to do next to break the law and/or violate the Constitution they are supposed to uphold?
Granted, humans have the tremendous ability to be aware of past and present and contemplate the future. Sadly we have a strong propensity to live in the past, worry about the future and miss the present completely. Even this essay could be accused of that.
Actually, such an accusation is a good segue to the point at which I felt certain we would eventually reach; viz. that what I see as the operational definition of peace is an individual issue, goal and state which is dependent upon focusing on the present.
No religion, government, economic or social system is going to give you freedom from disquieting and oppressive thoughts and emotions. The only one who has that ability is you.
It is true. The first person whom I need to hear this message is the one I see in the mirror. The purpose of writing an essay is tantamont to thinking out loud and sharing any enlightenment I might experience.
The next step is to face the questions where do we find peace, how do we find peace and is there really such a thing as peace? I'm not prepared at this time to even dip my toe in that raging river of philosophy and soul searching. It's going to take a lot more trips with a cup of tea around the Black Fox Hollow trail before I can share any insights.
This is important to me, so I promise I will come back with some ideas and the next installment. However, I can see the writing on the wall. Eventually we're going to get to the point where this is all like dying . . . you've got to do it alone.
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