Practicing Peace

Imagine this long awaited New Year opening up before you as the blank pages of a journal. And, imagine the story that could unfold across the pages of the new year if you…and I…and each of us…many of us…even most of us set an intention of Practicing Peace on Purpose.

I closed 2020 reading Jon Meacham’s biography HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON-JOHN LEWIS AND THE POWER OF HOPE. In it Meacham reports the unimaginable atrocities of man’s inhumanity to man. Freedom Fighters being beaten because they dared to stand up for their race and the dignity of all people. Humiliated by signs excluding them from bathrooms, soda fountains, and other public places. Denied the rights accorded their fellow citizens who were born into different races and classes. Witnessing loved ones also suffering these indignities.

Unimaginable.

Almost as unimaginable, yet also true, is Lewis’s response. Experiencing all of this, he still stood firm in his deepest convictions and unwavering commitment to:

“Lean towards the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Know that the truth always leads to love and the perpetuation of peace. Its products are never bitterness and strife. Clothe yourself in the work of love, in the revolutionary work of nonviolent resistance against evil. Anchor the eternity of love in your own souls and embed this planet with goodness. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge.

Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don’t be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.”

Imagine what we might create together as we cross the bridge of 2021 in step with these words, engaging individually and collectively in our own commitments to Practice Peace on Purpose.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”

Albert Einstein- Saturday Evening Post 1921