I’m not one to engage with protests on Social Media. I feel that it just adds to the general din and doesn’t accomplish much.
That does not mean that I don’t have an opinion. The genocide in the Middle East has been like watching siblings swing at each other – until one sibling went ballistic and started beating hell out of the other one. Your mama taught you that two wrongs don’t make a right, just like mine did.
I choose the way of peace. I don’t choose to keep an unjust peace – as in “keep quiet to keep the peace”. Not that. In that case, you’ve got to ask yourself whose peace you’re keeping. If the answer is “mine”, you’re in the right place.
One thing I’ve learned over the past few years of healing from trauma – and helping loved ones to heal from theirs – is that SOMEONE has to be an island of peace. Someone needs to be regulated and operating in their higher mind. The prefrontal cortex goes offline when we are freaked and fighting.
I’ve also learned from Yoga that we have to work toward a state of equanimity. We have to learn not to get caught up in the drama of others. Only then can we be a help.
What if there were more people who could remain calm and level headed? Solutions would arise. Being in our higher minds means that we can think critically and solve problems effectively. We can be a friend to all and still call out injustice.
So let me be clear, in case you are unsure. Killing and kidnapping are wrong. Period.
They. Must. Stop.
There are forces at work that we can’t see in the fog of war. Let cooler heads investigate. Using violent words against one another only escalates a situation. It serves nothing and no-one.
Peace says “You’re wrong AND you’re wrong. How did we get here? Let’s talk about this. Let’s fix it.”
I hear you say “but they’ll never listen”. They will. The longer violence is boiling, the longer it will take to cool. We must be patient while we act to help those who are hurting.
Having said all that, if I was in a conflict zone helping people and someone approached to hurt those I was helping? You’d be right to think that I’d be swearing up a tempest and doing my best to be protective. That’s human nature.
But I am not in that position. I am here on the outside. My energy is best spent in supporting those in need with love, not adding to the clamour. I am wiser to spend my time designing solutions for real people and awaiting my turn to serve in a material way. More specifically, I am researching climate in Palestine, as well as native plants, geology, topography, water flows, and more. I am looking for opportunities to serve families by restoring their ability to be both self-sufficient and inter-relational with their communities so that this can’t happen again. When everyone has access to life-giving resources, conflict is obsolete.
Shelter. Food. Water.
Safety. Health. Self-Determination.
Love. Family. Connection. Community.
And all the rest will sort themselves out.
It starts with listening to those in need. If we’re shouting, we can’t hear how to help.
We’re not ignoring. We are not allowing violence and injustice to go unchecked. We are called to resist by other means. We’re trying really hard. Please, see us and support our role.
Power to the Peaceful.
