Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

You don't have to be a hippie to believe in peace - Part 3 - Macro to micro

It is all well and good to read and agree with people like Miroslav Volf when they call for forgiveness and reconciliation, but in the great big world, I feel entirely powerless. That's one of the things that was paining me so on Friday as I watched the news from Beslan...there's nothing I can do to stop this from happening again.

Remembering the "let peace begin with me" lyric reminded me of something I wrote last winter:

But part of my...philosophy?...is that there is good and there is evil, and I need to try, constantly and mindfully, to choose good.

Minor example: guy cuts me off in traffic. Not only does the bastard cut me off, he makes me miss the light. Not only that, but the sonovabitch is driving a T-Bird, a car I can't afford. I hate that jerk. Reckless maniac, I hope he wrecks the car.

Deep breath...so I'm two minutes later getting home. Big deal. So I don't have a T-Bird. I do have a car, a reasonably safe and reliable car, and I'm not standing outside in the slush waiting to catch a bus. And that guy is driving recklessly...I hope he doesn't have a wreck, I hope he doesn't hurt himself or anyone else driving that way.

Today's quote is about peace on the micro-est level, individual peace. I found it in the novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven:

Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.

Posted by Nic at September 7, 2004 11:59 AM