We all look for peace....and if I could add something I have learned on my quest maybe you will find it useful.
I know this for sure.....Peace brings power.
In the past I felt unless I was angry, fired up and annoyed activism would not occur, and angry activism was the only way for change to occur. I was very foolish because anger clouds our thinking and keeps us from the best solutions that are right in our path.
The world is an angry place.....joining that anger will not bring peace. There is no energy in anger that can actually change anything. Only peace brings power and power is what we need for change.
Protests and demonstrations born out of hatred have no staying power because they just destroy. We have only to look to Martin Luther King who is everyone's hero to see how change is really made. His voice is one we all listened to, even the evil voices eventually listened to him. Great leaders bring us together and encourage us to feel no matter what our opinions are they love and care about us. As a small girl in the south, I felt Martin Luther King loved me, I felt love from him because he was no respecter of persons. His focus was equal rights and he loved all people. If you are going to offer a path to change then you must have a love for all people, not just the ones who agree with you.
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life, "a fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogant, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "the other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The Old Cherokee simply said, "The one you feed."
One point we miss in this legend is there are 2 wolves...the wolf of joy and peace is still a wolf. Still powerful and strong. No one says you must sit idly by and do nothing. Be a wolf, but be a wolf of infinite power guided by peace. Not a wolf limited by anger.
