“Many people think excitement is happiness . . . But when you are excited, you are not peaceful.  True happiness is based on peace.” Thich Nhat Hanh

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.” Jesus

Can there ever be peace?  How would you answer that question?

I would say no.  And yes.

No, the world will never be at peace.  History proves that conflict is not limited to one particular time, people, or place.  It is not a question of will there be war, but only where it will be, and who will be fighting?

But yes, there can be peace.  In each individual person.  Which leads to another question:  Are you at peace?  Are you living in peace within yourself?  And if not, why?  What is causing you to be conflicted internally?  There are a number of elements that could be at the root of it, but try this one on for size:  Selfishness.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the brilliant Buddhist teacher, touches on this.  The quest for happiness is driven by selfish desires.  We want things, things, and more things.  The accumulation of which leaves us empty, wanting more, and even worse envying and resenting those who have more than we have.  The book of James in the New Testament says something similar, “Where do conflicts and quarrels come from?  Is it not from the passions that battle within you?  You desire, and do not have . . .” It’s easy for us to see this in play on the world theatre, as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are over land.  But the question is whether we can see it in ourselves?  Consider, for a moment, the cause of the conflicts that you have experienced, or are experiencing with others now.  How true is it that selfishness driven by egotistical desires on the part of both parties involved plays a huge part in the disharmony.

And then there is Sacrifice.  That is a key to understanding both the cause of conflict as well as the solution.  Our selfishness causes us to accuse others, to want to sacrifice them, either literally or figuratively, for the sake of getting what we want.  Perhaps the inherent misbelief that dwells unacknowledged within drives this delusion that something, or someone, must be sacrificed in order for there to be peace.  But the sacrifice that is needed is not one to God, or that of another, but of ourselves.  Is peace worth enough that we are willing to sacrifice all that we think we want, need, or are to accomplish peace?

Though difficult, the path to peace is simple.  Sensing the Peaceful Presence of God.  Being aware that if we have God, or better put recognize that God has us, we lack nothing.  And if we first become aware of the Divine Essence living within us, we will then, in time, be able to sense and see the Divinity in others. 

Consider Jesus for a moment.  He is the icon of Peace.  He is described as the Prince of Peace.  He lives in Peace with others.  He delivers Peace.  He dies a horribly violent death . . . in Peace.  How?  How does He do so?  The easy answer is to say, “Well, He is different. He was God.”  That is missing the point.  It’s not that He was God that mattered, but that He was aware of the presence of God within Him.  And that gave Him peace. He was fully aware of The Presence of Peace that was present in Him.  But that is not limited to Him.  He gives it to us. He breathes the Spirit of God into the disciples, and all of His followers, you and me, and says, “Peace be with you.”  It is the gift of God.  It is the gift of peace.  It is the gift given to us so that we can live at peace with ourselves, and with others. 

It is our duty and delight to daily breathe in that peace.  Each day should begin like that—with a breathing in of God’s Spirit of Peace, so that we can breathe it over, onto, and into others. 

You know, if each person was able to live in peace and at peace within ourselves and with God, there would no longer be war.