Word of the Month: Peace

PEACE

VIRTUE Peace

SABOTEUR Conflict

Making peace with the self leads to more peaceful relationships with others.

Peace isn’t an everyday word, that’s sad. When is the last time you used the word peace? Peace doesn’t even seem to be on the January resolution list. We want weight loss, organization and a better income. These are good things, but wouldn’t they be even better with a dollop of peace thrown on top?

We blame one another for not having enough peace in our lives, we postpone the peace making process until we have a conference or a therapy session. Why would we postpone peace? Is it because we think we may have to give something up? What would that be? Is a peaceful relationship one in which the other party does what we think is right? Ah, so many questions.

Peace is an inner experience. Peace requires great strength because we have to maintain our balance between two sides. A coin is two sided and everyone wants to be the side on the top, even though the side on the bottom is supporting the top. It doesn’t matter which side is up or down because the value of the coin remains the same. A peacemaker knows that truth.

We must have more than one opinion, more than one option, so we can see all sides of a dilemma. The world isn’t flat and life isn’t linear. Everything is round and constantly changing. If you reflect on this, you’ll remember when you were very certain about life and then without warning, life turned and you saw a new way of thinking. You changed your mind and grew into a different perspective. That’s the nature of peacemaking, knowing that perspectives change.

Conflicts are just peaceful resolutions waiting to be born.