| Every moment of the day provides
an opportunity to create the conditions for Peace.
For Peacemaking is not that special activity undertaken only
in those moments of intense and violent conflict. Indeed, when
we reach such moments, that is a clear indication that we have
not been doing our daily jobs as Peacemakers.
PRACTICE OF PEACE
For Peace itself is not the far off, someday to be realized
phenomenon which we desperately seek when there seems to be
no other alternative. Rather, Peace is what life is all about,
every day, all the days, from the first day until the last.
Just as chaos, confusion and conflict are the constant, integral,
and necessary elements of this thing we call living, so also
is the Practice of Peace -- that task of enabling the conditions
under which they may weave themselves together, creating the
fabric of life.
We will never get it right. We are always on the journey,
for Peace is not a destination, a final state, a frozen ideal
-- it is the journey itself, characterized by wholeness, health
and harmony. Always moving, always changing, always exploring
new ways, and therefore presenting new challenges, new insights,
new opportunities. And for sure, when we reach a day where it
appears that we have finally gotten it right, and all the pieces
fit, we will know that the journey is over. In the meantime,
there is a lot of work to do.
THE ROADS BEFORE US
We may not have the patience to explore all the possible roads
to Peace. And, needless to say, I do not possess the necessary
experience, knowledge and competence. My intent, therefore will
be to offer some few examples from my own experience, which
may be of assistance as you make your own way. This is not a
cook book, for the stew of life.
Peace is always a work in progress, and the chefs are infinite
in number. And in the case of Peace and Peacemaking, the old
adage, 'Too many cooks spoil the broth,' simply does not apply.
My concern is not what we have been doing, but how we have
done it. |
