Peace Now, You Idiot!
It was the 1960’s and students screamed “RIGHT ON” and “YEAH MAN” as Peace Pilgrim stoked the anti-war energy at college campuses across the country. This silver-haired woman had been walking across the U.S. with only the clothes on her back for more than a decade, sharing her message of peace.
When she asked the rowdy students if they felt like spitting at the congressmen who voted to send more soldiers to Vietnam, the cheers reached a deafening crescendo.
After letting the crowd shout for a few minutes, Peace Pilgrim simply said, “Then you’re exactly the same as those congressmen.”
Talk about a silencer!
She went on to explain that it didn’t matter what “side” a person was on. If anger consumed them, it would be impossible for them to ever feel peaceful. “When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others,” she declared.
In fact, she explained, only when enough of us feel inner peace will the ripples spread outward. Only then will our families, our communities and our countries naturally “operate on a philosophy of peace.”
Her words remain a wake-up call. How many of us say we believe in peace, support peace efforts or even, like me, write a book in the hopes of promoting peace? Then, without thinking twice, we badmouth those we disagree with, mistrust those we don’t know, yell at our kids, curse out crazy drivers?
Is it human nature? Our need for group allegiance? Maybe. But all it takes is a look around to see that conflict has become a team sport. Congressional discord is at a fever pitch. Media seems to mirror the rivaling tribes. Taking sides is the new black.
So Peace Pilgrim’s wisdom is more relevant than ever. Perhaps the only way to find a silver lining in these clouds of chronic conflict is to start within. I try to do that in my own life. It isn’t always easy and it doesn’t always work. But I know that unless I attempt to walk my talk, I’m a hypocrite with a capital “H!”
My new mantra when I’m feeling angry or judgmental is: Stop. Breathe. Know that we all have more in common than our differences. How about you? What can you do today to be kind to yourself and, in turn, share that kindness with others?
(For a free copy of Peace Pilgrim’s wonderful booklet, Steps Toward Inner Peace,” available in 33 languages, visit www.PeacePilgrim.org.)