I believe all of us are ultimately looking for one thing and it is the same thing: Peace within ourselves and peace with our fellows.
And I believe that the vast majority of us have no idea that this what we are seeking. We just frantically seek. We set out in a “direction” with a “purpose”, following all sorts of insane paths to achieve…..what? We don’t really know, and for the most part it is the question we are afraid to ask. We are terrified of the answer. At our depths we have a feeling we have been climbing the wrong mountain our whole life. It is a feeling that can potentially drive us insane.
We climb mountains of education, knowledge, material comfort, status, identity, family, power, safety, fame, etc. We are hoping what we are looking for is at the summit. But rarely does Peace reside there.
In fact, our “efforts” often bring complexity, chaos, temptation, conflict, drama and struggle but not peace. It seems, in our modern Western world, we are born of peace and then set out to sabotage it and mangle ourselves. From the stillness of the womb, we go straight to a cultural path of perpetual fear, scarcity and anxiety. Maybe that is just my experience but this is how I observe the general human condition from my own nascent appreciation for a life dedicated to peace.
I started out climbing the mountain of fear, scarcity and anxiety just like most people. Oddly it was only when I walked myself off the edge of the mountain, and crashed to the ground did I discover what it was I had Truly been looking for.
I found peace there and it astonished me. Every fear I harboured had come true at that moment, and at that moment there was nothing left to fear, and I was no longer afraid. This was peace.
An act of Grace showed me what I was seeking. I committed to myself that I would hold onto this divine gift of peace but how? I followed a simple rule. I would not take the next step unless it brought more peace. I ceased fighting anyone or anything. I would refuse the call of anger, resentment, vengeance or fear. I would love everyone, and I would tell the truth.
I live in peace, and I protect this state of being one step at a time, one day at a time with every thought, every word and every action. I wish all of my fellows would join me on this path of happy destiny, but I will be honest and tell you that the gate is narrow, and the path is lonely as you begin this journey. You must walk it alone.
But at some point we all need to walk ourselves to the cross and face God. There is no other way. I’m sorry but there isn’t. In this life or the next it doesn’t matter. It will happen. No one can initiate you but you. The great Carl Jung tells us why.
“If any considerable group of persons are united and identified with one another by a particular frame of mind, the resultant transformation experience bears only a very remote resemblance to the experience of individual transformation. A group experience takes place on a lower level of consciousness than the experience of the individual. This is due to the fact that, when many people gather together to share one common emotion, the total psyche emerging from the group is below the level of the individual psyche. If it is a very large group, the collective psyche will be more like the psyche of an animal, which is the reason why the ethical attitude of large organizations is always doubtful. The psychology of a large crowd inevitably sinks to the level of mob psychology..In the crowd one feels no responsibility, but also no fear.” - Carl G. Jung
The Way
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