The Calling to Peace
The ability to make peace can not be acquired through the knowledge of theory or the mastery of technique.
The capacity to be a peacemaker arises from a calling and journey toward the actualization of authentic self being and the becoming of a transformative being in peace. This being is realized from within not from without.
The calling to be a peacemaker may very well have led you to pursue a vocational path by which you aspire to answer your calling. This pursuit may have resulted in the achievement of a degree and title, and perhaps has even led you to establishing your self in a professional career in peace studies or conflict resolution. However, the mastery of theory and technique, as well as possession of a title, such as a peacemaker, does not in and of itself enable you to be a cause of and effect peace in the world.
These statements will perhaps challenge some of you who have acquired formal degrees and titles, as well as those of you who are actively engaged in seeking to end conflict and promote peace through professional work. But if you pause and reflect on these statements, with respect to the peace you perceive as having witnessed through academic study, or through conflict you have worked toward resolving, you will enviably realize its unsettling truth, that you may not have witnessed or realized true peace in your life time. At most, you have likely observed a secession of the manifestations of conflict, while the underlying origin of the conflict, the absence of peace, remains unattended to and ready to manifest, perhaps with a new face.
Peace is more than this. It has been said that “there is no way to peace, peace is the way.”
In this regard, I introduce you to the understanding that you can not effect peace in the world until you effect peace within yourself. Securing peace in oneself is a journey beyond theory and technique. This journey is unique to each individual. While the path of each individual’s journey may differ, the beginning and end of each journey is universal. The beginning might be described as separation from authentic self being, or separation from peace within oneself, and the end to the journey might be described as acceptance of one’s authentic self being, or being in peace. One can not fully respect another’s authentic self being without first respecting and accepting their own authentic self being. The fear of living into one’s authentic self being extends by projection through the rejection of another’s authentic self being. This origin of fear is the underlying source of rivalry, which leads to conflict within one’s self and in humanity. It may manifest itself along lines of divisions within humanity defined by by social constructs such as; tribe, clan, race, gender, color, age, religion, class, language, nationality, sexual orientation, and, or political identities. These social constructs shape identity through conformity expectation and alliance with familiarity. Authentic self being transcends conformity identity, as peace transforms fear of otherness experienced within self and humanity; it does so through the grace of insight and understanding of the inextricable bonds within and between humanity and self, and their shared destiny. This realization marks the integration of differences.
