Peace

Peace is more than the absence of violence. In our media world, we are tempted to equate peace with the absence of war. This is unfortunate. It externalizes the concept of peace from something we carry within our minds and bodies to something out of our control.

I often associate peace and joy in my writing. I see the two as entwined and inseparable. I refer to the peace which comes from accepting responsibility for maintaining and improving my life as it is. My age, my genetics, my sexuality...all these things are as they are. Maintaining and improving that life is the work of daily practice. Joy naturally develops as I live in this peace with my life as it is. I become liberated from the silly worries of materialism and hedonism. I become satisfied with simple pleasures. I value the people in my life for who they are, as opposed to who I wish them to become.

Freedom from violence aids this development of personal peace, of course. The best way to remove violence from my life is to become non-violent myself. This doesn't entail walking through life in fear. This entails becoming confident in my own ability to defend myself if attacked or to remove myself from a violent sitaution. The daily practice of promoting health and fitness contributes to this confidence.

A peaceful life can begin with simple actions. Evaluating the immediate living environment for conflict or threats is an example. Making decisions about how to approach these environmental negatives is a good beginning. Meditation and reflection help me to see where my own demons accelerate my anxiety and perception of threats to my internal peace from my environment. Sometimes my demons are the threat. Then I need to take them on with concentration, communication and behavior modification.

Getting to know myself, a never-ending job even at 62, allows me to know what I need to be at peace. Success at promoting my internal peace brings joy and increased confidence. This is elemental to my practice as a humanist. How can I promote peace and joy in other lives if my own is in conflict? How can I implement my values in my environment if I cannot implement my values within my own mind and body?