Peace can be defined in both positive and negative sense.
Positively, peace is a state of serenity and stillness; however, in a negative sense, peace is the absence of war or violence.
Everything is evaluated not according to what it looks like at a certain moment, but by the degree of its development.
Through a perspective peace is endowed with meaning by being linked to other concepts within a particular perception of reality; and by its relationship to ideas or assumptions about violence, history, divine grace, justice.
Peace is thereby locked into a descriptive or explanatory view of our reality and each other.
The two kinds of peace are pretty straightforward, it helped me to notice, appreciate, and (hopefully) practice each of these.
It’s OK to focus on just one for a while; any peace is better than none!
1. The Peace of serenity
This is the deep quietness in mind and body. Perhaps you’ve felt this on first waking, before the mind kicks into gear. Or while sitting next to a mountain pond, something of its stillness seeps into your heart. At the end of a workout, meditation, you might have felt serene.
2. The Peace of Ease
This is the peace of relaxation and relief, and it comes in many forms. You look out a window and feel calmer, talk through a problem with a friend, or finally make it to the bathroom. You exhale slowly, activating the soothing parasympathetic wing of your nervous system. You finish a batch of emails or dishes. You were worried about something but finally get good news.
We’re the seeds of the future but it’s up to each of us to care for our own inner garden first then we’ll guide the people around us too. When we have peace we’ll be able to lead other into peace,rather than getting drawn into their endless action and reaction that only leads to more and more violence.
Peaceful spiritual practices help us wake up to the fact that the unity of the human family that has brought us into being is not a metaphor but the actual underlying reality which conflicts ignore and hatred obscures
There is evidence that human being did not always live violent lives. In fact, I assume most people reading this article are not customarily violent, and do not desire to watch someone suffer. All animals have the capacity to enrich the lives of others. We have the capacity to be both selfish and kind. What matters is which quality we chose to focus on; bringing that quality into focus within ourselves, the world, and our children.
Take it in when you feel it
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