by Amy McMahon
The current state of the world is deeply saddening. The atrocities that go on are horrendous – not just towards each other, but even to the planet. At any given moment, just take a look at the headlines on CNN.com, it’s like a crazy horror movie. But this is no movie, this is our world, the world we live in.
I believe peace begins with the individual. As individuals, we may think we can’t change the state of the world. But we can bring about a positive change in our own life, and in our relationships with the people in our lives. We can lead a more peaceful, spiritual life, and together we can change the state of the world. This change begins internally, when we change ourselves.
Society is simply a sum of the individuals in it. It is a reflection of who we are, and what we have inside of ourselves. The lack of peace in the world is a reflection of the lack of peace inside the people of the world.
Most would say they are peaceful people, and are not responsible for the worlds problems and atrocities. I used to say this myself; “hey I’m a nice person!” But when I observe myself, I find there are many negative subconscious states inside me, anger, greed, ill-will etc. For example, the people I love most (family, partner, etc) have a knack for pushing my buttons and I can get frustrated and even angry at them (and usually I feel bad afterward). I have greed: I ate WAY too much on Christmas Day feeling positively ill afterward. I get impatient at others in peak hour traffic when I am running late. If someone does me wrong I can turn downright nasty, even if it is just me replaying the scene in my head with what I would like to have said or done to that person…. I could go on and on. All these states are a far cry from ‘peace’ within.
Now these may seem like harmless things, far from engaging in war and killing people. But we all have these negative states inside of us, and given the right circumstances, these subconscious states are what drive these global atrocities.
I think to find peace, we need to change, we need to eliminate these negative subconscious states within, and increase our consciousness. If people can change themselves, then the whole world can change, because society is just a sum of the people in it.
To attain world peace, we as individuals need to first need to find peace within. I really do believe change does begin with the individual, and permanent lasting world peace is dependent on the changes we as individuals make.
In Australia recently there was a very insightful discussion on national radio, about the state of the world today and what steps have to be taken as a humanity and as individuals, to facilitate positive change. It delved into this very topic in more depth – you can listen to a recording HERE: http://belzebuub.com/state_of_the_world_radio_interview .
I wish this kind of thing was discussed in the community more often – if we as individuals took these steps, we will be able to make the changes necessary for lasting peace.
Amy writes a blog at http://gnosticgirl.wordpress.com/about/
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This is a very interesting post, and I take your point, I disagree however in your use of individualism. Society is not merely the sum of the individuals in it, nor do I think that individualism is the solution to the problems of the world. Certainly things like anger in our personal relationships and greed at Christmas and other holidays are places which all of us can improve on our peacefulness and do so immediately. I think that it is dangerous of us to separate the personal from the political. It is not only that we are violent in our personal lives but that we are also complicit in larger systemic violence. Eliminating negative subconscious states is important but we should not let it distract us from the important task of radically changing the violent structures of this world.