Clear Path to Peace

Last night I saw a wonderful documentary on the history of the environmental organization, Greenpeace.

Greenpeace: Making A Stand (by producer/director Leigh Badgley, 2006)

There was some great, inspiring footage of the early years, when brave young people went out in small boats to act as human shields, placing themselves between the harpoons of immense commercial whaling ships and the huge and vulnerable bodies of the hunted whales. Their actions were non-violent and damaged no property. In the style of the Quakers, they “bore witness”, and showed the world with powerful photographs the truth of what was happening in the world’s oceans.

The film also showed more recent actions in Argentina, where environmentalists are struggling to save large tracts of forest, and the culture of the indigenous people who live there, from bulldozers. Each day, many football fields worth of forest are being cut to make way for soybean crops, which last a few years and then leave a desert of denuded soil.

As I watched with deep admiration for Greenpeace, I thought - and what of the whalers, and the bulldozer drivers? What compels them to go to work each morning? The simple answer is, “It’s a job - they need to feed their families.” But most of us need jobs, and we find something else to do.

Rather than being satisfied with a simple answer, I ask another question: What if these people learned of Peace….enjoying immediate contact with their own divine essence….and could no longer go to work each day as killers of biosystems, as rapists of Mother Earth? What if they woke up to their innocence in God, no matter what it looks like, no matter what they’ve done? What if we all chose a day, a moment, or a lifetime to focus on Peace and to affirm our innocence, and no blame was possible? What a wonderful world awaits us in this vision….

After watching the film, I am recommitting to my love and dedication to peace activism. We can all offer something of the goodness of our hearts. What is your offering? I want to share it with you, because we cannot wake up alone - only together.

Today, let’s remember the brave ones who’ve shown us the way. Let’s hug someone in the spirit of Peace….in the spirit of Greenpeace.

A Course in Miracles states that the first obstacle to peace is “desiring to get rid of it”.  I’ve been watching myself experience deep states of peace, and then fall asleep to mySelf…..ending up having gotten rid of what I wanted.  So, the only thing I know to do is to relax into Divine Love in order to “get it back”.  Like I’ve said before - Peace didn’t go anywhere.  I just need to return to it, over and over, until I strengthen my inner muscles, and I don’t leave anymore.

I want Peace so bad I can taste it.  How about you?

Here is a poem by Mary Oliver, my all time favorite poet.  If you don’t know her work, go immediately to your library or nearest bookstore and feast upon her brilliance.  I offer this poem because it is so simple, and speaks to the necessity of forgiveness when walking our clear path to peace.

The Uses Of Sorrow

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me

a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand

that this, too, was a gift.

        — Mary Oliver, Thirst