A Piece on War

This is not about Muslims and Jews. They are actually kin. Cousins. Descendants of Abraham. When kin are "at war", the rest of the family is best served by forging way and holding space for peace. Humanity is one species. We are a family.

Count bodies on each side, then add them up. It is millions, it is generations. Land is rubble, where there were olive groves, there are ashen trees now. Clear rivers are flowing with blood. This is the price.

Asking people to take sides in war, is demanding that people accept and support that war is a worthy endeavor, and the price is worth paying. Declining the pull of this polarizing premise is an act of peace.

We are so blessed, and this is what we do with it? Look at our beautiful planet, the magical elements, and the many creatures. Give thought to what we have been given in the form of unconditional nourishment from nature. In the form of relationships with each other. We received it all for free. We inherited it. We also inherited the pain of those now buried in the very ground, and in our DNA. We must all be willing to pass the earth better than we found it. Do our work to heal the pain. For the ones who will come next.

Recognizing that contempt, finger-pointing, and justifying violence because the "other" started it, is a tool used to dehumanize a group of people. As if saying, this person deserves to be protected and this one is worthless, or worth less for whatever reason. Recognizing that "victimhood" is also a tactic used to justify violence. When we paint ourselves as victims, we become blind to our own violence. We justify it. Make it righteous even. These are tools and tactics of violence.

The ones who are quiet are hurting too. They are angry. They are grieving. They are torn. They have family and friends who are hurting. When we turn on the silent ones and direct our pain on them for not screaming and shouting, we spread our pain like a virus. We must each see for ourselves just how futile war is.. what a let down it is of the human opportunity... Mutually assured destruction is not the deterrent for those fighting to the death. More viral load will make the disease worse. We must become warriors of life instead. That requires a response, not a reaction. We need the antidote. The antidote is compassion. The antidote is love.

Love for all human family. Whatever colors you wear, whatever your creed, whatever your labels; our blood is red, our home is earth, our species is human. We are all life itself. We are the same. As the Mayan say, "In Lak'ech Ala K'in", or "I am you, and you are me". With this ethos, with this truth, every tear, every single drop of blood, every breath, every being becomes sacred.

Albert Einstein said, "You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it." Eye for an eye; tit for tat or "they started it", are all excuses for bad choices of the past. We have done the violence thing. The holocaust, the apartheid, slavery, genocide, residential schools... the manifestation is different, but it is the same thing at the core of it. Fear, violence, domination, control, and exploitation. We know how this goes. We know how this ends. At this time in human history, we are more aware of this past than ever before. It is time to make a different choice. Truth and reconciliation don't have to be for hurt we have already caused, it can be the driving force behind us choosing a better way now. We need to elevate our consciousness to a higher value, a better vision for the future than the memories and whiplash of a brutal past.

We can all be intentional about what we put out into the world. What we share and "boost". Our appetite for peace will make way for peace. Our fixation with being "right" and "getting back at others" will perpetuate the vicious cycle.

Those who believe that prayer and holding good intentions or wishes is futile are missing out on the most powerful tool available to all human beings, our will. It moves mountains. Let's be kind to each other. Let's hold space for those playing out their pain. Let's hold a vision of peace, and embody it in our own way.

There are always helpers. I won't tell you which one(s) to choose. Look for the ones most aligned to your own values. Find them. Connect. Build bridges. Become a helper too.

Words are powerful. Use them in peace and for peace.

Let there be peace in our hearts, and in our world.