The continuous quest for any true peace activist is to keep working to cease all wars within.
We cannot begin to heal this world until we first begin to heal ourselves.
The energy which fuels our actions of peace is born from healing our wounds. When we consciously explore the root and meaning of our pain, we can begin to accept ourselves unconditionally and move back into wholeness. Embracing the hurt parts of ourselves allows us to find mercy for the brokenness of others. By meeting those places within us that we are frightened to meet, we can also better understand the fear driven individuals that cause so much destruction in this world.
By judging others, we create a wall of separation, inhibiting us from authentically meeting the whole of each other. We have to remember that we are only able to sense or see a glimpse of the richness of each other. Through compassion, we can have the patience to see beyond the temporal behaviour of others, and give a chance for them to reveal something deeper of themselves, a larger image of the whole.
However, there is a definite difference in ‘judgement’ and ‘discernment’. In this realm of polarities, we must be able to distinguish wrong from right and lie from truth. Otherwise we would float adrift in the grey zone of moral irresponsibility, acting from impulse alone and creating chaos.
It is wise to separate the act or the energy from the person.
We can discern that a particular behaviour of a person is wrong, and still recognise the fundamental sacredness of their spirit within. We can discern that a particular cultural practice is wrong, while still having faith in humanity.
If we remember all of the times that we hurt someone and all of the times we let ourselves down, we can find gratitude for the Grace that has permitted us to continue learning. Recognising that we are all on a journey of growth allows us to forgive each other. Even the cruelest acts hold a suffering heart in bondage within.
One of the roots of our modern day malady is our profound disconnectedness from Nature, from our true origins.
This painful separation is reflected in the way we hurt the Earth, pollute the air, contaminate the waters, dominate the wildlife and burn our forests. It is our very own home that we are destroying. Earth is who gives us our everything, from the air we breathe to the food we eat. It is a spiritual sickness to keep perpetuating this suffering.
We can change our consumerist habits and begin to live more consciously.
Together we can restore the Earth.
Going vegan, learning the principles of permaculture and regenerative organic agriculture, growing our own food, planting diverse forests, rewilding, using renewable energy, buying locally as much as possible, boycotting multinational corporations, minimising our waste, repairing, reusing and recycling are just few of the steps we can all take to live more harmoniously with our Mother Earth and all of her creatures.
How can we expect anyone to care about pollution or the environmental crisis, if it is our culture and habit to pollute our very own bodies day in and day out?
The vast majority of the health problems people struggle with today are a direct result of toxicity. The modern human being suffers from toxic food, toxic drinks, toxic pharmaceutical substances, toxic cosmetics, toxic household products, toxic habits, toxic environments, toxic relationships, toxic emotions, toxic thoughts…
How many activists ever think of ‘health’ as a powerful tool for freedom?
Authentic self-care should be our very first responsibility and privilege. Without health we begin to lose our self sovereignty and our vitality, which in turn nourishes our creativity.
Chi, Qi, Prana - our life force can be blocked and drained or opened and strengthened depending on our diet and lifestyle. We can use our free will to begin to cultivate seeds of wellbeing and protect our vitality. We can consciously choose our daily habits, foods and medicines.
As long as we voluntarily harm ourselves by feeding and injecting ourselves and our children with poison, we cannot expect others to stop oppressing us. We must first begin to love ourselves in the most basic ways, in concrete action.
We must care about ourselves enough to be able to say “no” to poison.
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”
-Ayurvedic proverb
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.“
-Hippocrates
“The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them.”
-Ecclesiasticus 38:4
Photo by Brooke Lark
