What Peace Is…
by bryan maynard
Peace is what? What is Peace? What Peace Is…
Here goes…
1. Peace is actively accepting what is happening. No comparing. No judging. No fixing. No living for the future or grasping for a different reality in a way that brings undue or unwise strain to your person…Because you are not any of these things.
2. Peace is an act of solidarity with oneself and with all beings and matter. I am not my thoughts or my circumstances, but I am part of all that is. Space and things and thoughts, all of these relate to each other as distinct realities but not separate ones. When I breath air from the space around me and take it in, something is shared with me and I share something with it. WE are a collective harmony that sometimes is experienced as disharmony, and sometimes not, but we are a true tapestry. It is great gift to intentionally submit to this unity and mutuality, to be aware of it and to embrace it consciously. There is wisdom that flows from this intentionality and its fruit is peace.
3. Peace is more than acceptance and solidarity though. Peace is lovingkindness for all beings and for all things FOR their distinctness and FOR their togetherness. True humanity is innately loving and can be found in this level of consciousness and skill alone. Until I can love all things for their freedom to be unique and for their ‘lack of freedom’ in their connectedness, I am always reacting out of something other than my true, highest nature, which is lovingkindness. All that is not peace in me comes from living down to a lower impulse and it is this lower impulse-fear, hate, anxiety, too much of a good thing- that promotes fracturedness and uneasiness. Lovingkindness brings me into harmony with my true self, with who I am and peace is the sign that love has made its home in me where it is destined to flower and grow. Where there is love, I am being my true, distinct self as part of the larger connectedness I share with all beings and all things.
What are your thoughts about peace?
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Allegiance is peace…that is so true, but I have not heard this comment in connection with peace. There is a peace that comes only from a hearty commitment to others and to life around and within us. I’d be interested to hear more of your thoughts about allegiance and peace. thank you for sharing!!
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acceptance…there’s a world of knowledge and wisdom in that little word, huh?! thank you for sharing.
Amazing post! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I came across it as a ‘related article’ to a quote I posted just now. To me, peace is definitely about acceptance. Also , about living in the present. Trying to not have regrets, and accepting you cannot change the past but just learn by your mistakes etc. Giving up on feeling guilty for the past, and avoiding the need for approval by society in general. Knowing that you cannot please everyone. Just finding peace, by knowing that as long as you are doing good deeds and not intentionally hurting anyone, that you are doing ok.
and thank you for sharing. and, glad to know how you came across my blog. always interesting how this happens…i’ll check out your blog soon!
You’re most welcome!! Thanks for checking out my blog- loving the reciprocity that the blogger community exercise! 🙂
I think it takes some of us (me 🙂 a few decades to get to the conditions you describe here. Acceptance is a maturity of soul that ‘hangs with life and self and people’ with attention to broad things like compassion and justice, but with a lot of freedom for self-discovery, failing and getting up and failing and..just letting go of a lot of expectations of self and others that get in the way. It’s taken me nearly 5 decades to start seeing what you are describing. thanks for sharing. and, for following 🙂
It is always a process of evolution. You are right, one has to be patient and ‘learn’ how to have peace. Mostly it is about self-discovery and being tolerant of oneself too. You’re welcome for the follow- u have a very interesting take on things, hence it was easy to follow u.
Thank you for your encouragement. Sometimes I write stuff and am like, “huh? who reads this kind of stuff or can make sense of it.” 🙂
hahaahahaahha u took the words right of my mouth!! I feel the exact same way about my posts!!!
Its great to be able to encourage other people/writers. I know I get a huge smile if other bloggers compliment me. I like to give the same back to other bloggers such as yourself. Not for the sake of it, but meaningfully. Not to patronise. Do u know what I mean?
What a great post. I need to spend more time on this. How do we live in the moment purposefully seeking to be and radiate peace? To push out fear of failure?
Noah, I’ll write soon. Thinking about your questions…deep waters you are asking about. Good questions!
Noah, forgive my delay in responding. I’m back in full-time grad studies after 15 years of being out of Grad School. This is actually not unrelated to your questions about being and radiating peace and pushing out fear. I’ve been in massive career transition for the past 5 years, ever since the economy crashed in the U.S. Enough of that though. Thank you for processing out loud on this post. Being and radiating peace, just the phrasing of that has all kinds of meaning and carries powerful intentions. Today I was meditating by focusing my thoughts on the phrase, “May I be open to what is happening,” on my inbreath. During my outbreath I was saying, “May I be peaceful.” I think I’m going to use your two phrases in my meditation tomorrow, and see what wisdom might pop up inside me and then share more thoughts on your questions. But, to give you an idea of what I mean to do with your phrase and with my meditation, I plan on repeating, “May I BE peace,” on my inbreath (taking the breath in with the intention and meaning of those words is a powerful way to ‘breath peace into the interior of our central heart area, which means more than just our chest!). On the outbreath, I plan on repeating the phrase, “May I radiate peace.” I’m very curious to see what happens with this in terms of insight and transformation. I’ll write more soon. Thank you for prompting this for me!
Thanks for taking time to consider this. I am interested in hearing more on how this goes and on what has brought you to this journey you are on. Perhaps it is in your blog and I can dig deeper.
noah, I am still here, my friend, and have been really letting this soak. I have felt the need for real silence to let this idea of being peace and radiating peace come from a fuller place, a more open place. Plus, I just wrapped up twelve hours of grad school this semester 🙂 I’m considering doing a few entries on this and am keeping my notes as thoughts arise. thank you, and i’ll be joining you more openly and publicly in this search for enlightenment of peace soon. PEACE to you!