In this world, not everything is perfect, not everything goes the way we would like it to. No matter how much we want to adopt peaceful ways and try to embrace peace, we loose it due to circumstances, people around us or maybe because of our own lack of control on how we think or react.
We must learn to focus on peace, forgiveness, humor, sharing even the most difficult situations. We can develop skills to live the difficult situations in an objective manner.
Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist who survived the holocaust has demonstrated how a human being can endure most brutal situations in the right and honorable manner. It was due to his and others' suffering in these camps that he came to his hallmark conclusion that even in the most absurd, painful and dehumanized situation, life has potential meaning and that therefore even suffering is meaningful. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl)
We can't control all the evil but we can and must protect the good within us.
If we are able to conquer our thought process, we can attain peace that stays...!
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Today as I reflected on your blog on peace and the very fine illustration: Frankl’s life and works, it came to me that when we speak PEACE there are at least three constructs that we most carefully analyze and act upon: (1) cool headedness in our search for truth--PEACE, (2) that the meaning of truth, and ultimately peace in our human life is a dynamic process, not a dictum or a set of rules which we “all” must abide by to bring about PEACE, and (3) we have all cling to PEACE as one of the supreme values of human beings – in reality there is some level of spirituality that we attribute to PEACE (the operational and moral value). The conclusion I reached, stated very briefly is that a life of PEACE involves that we human being attempt to reach perfection, and perfection is GOD.
ReplyDeleteWhen we speak of PEACE as a goal in the world we have inherited, one must keep in mind that discussion on the subject has to take place with a calm head and a cool intellect. For Master Buddha has taught us “In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves”.
We must understand that the actions of peace just like the meaning of life are dynamic complex processes. As we have learned from Frankl, what is important in the search is dynamic and time bound. “ For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment”.
Ultimately, for most of us who believe in the existence of one God, the essence of peace in the world we live in, then the goal of peace is our perfection in our day-to-day interactions with our fellow human beings. Peace is God, and God is perfection. I share with you the vision of God from Alfred Adler’s perspective: “God who is eternally complete, who directs the stars, who is the master of fates, who elevates man from his lowliness to Himself, who speaks from the cosmos to every single human soul, is the most brilliant manifestation of the goal of perfection”.
Let us engage in a process of discernment with cool heads, accept the dynamic nature of what we seek, and identify as our goal peace, with accompaniment of the Supreme Being, of the Jew and the Gentile, the Hindu and the Muslim, the Christians the Buddhist and the Taoist. Let us all raise one voice and claim “Peace be upon us”.
Amen. Thanks, Joe!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best thinking for humanity. I have blogged it on MEGHnet for the benefit of someone visiting it. Thanks Gudia, thanks Joe.
ReplyDeleteGudia Ji,
ReplyDeleteAll my wishes to you!
Such a humanistic approach to life makes you worthy of praise.
If I could spare a little time, I shall write on the theme of peace...leading ahead the topic where you left.
I shall come again & again to visit you on this blog.
Till then,...bbbbb.... bye!
Jitendra ji, you are welcome to share you ideas related to promoting inner and global peace on this blog. You can send it to anjdayal@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully,
Anjana