I see it all the time, people rejecting peace because it is viewed as passive, weak and often conquered by those who engage in violence. For those who see violence as the only response to violence, comprehending the power of peace may be a stretch. However, peace is not passive, weak or at threat of being conquered, not by any stretch. Instead, peace draws upon an underlying foundation that grounds and connects every single one of us together; love.
While that connection may seem weak or non-existent in some people, it is there. Many work hard to hide or even ignore its existence, but it is there. I know lots of people who are so hurt, injured, scared or alone that they cannot seem to find that connection, but it is there. That love cannot be killed, captured or conquered as it is based in spirit and able to overcome any diversity that it faces.
When we stand in peace and confront violence, we tap into that one common thread that weaves all our hearts together. For some it may seem that it is not working, but it is. We may not see the results of our peaceful actions, but we do influence others in mysterious and magical ways. To walk the path of peace require much more courage, strength, integrity and honour than anybody holding a gun, knife or sword. The war mongers bestow these characteristics to the solders but in reality there is a group of people who have far more courage, strength, integrity and honour, the peace keepers.
Peace keeping is desperately needed and does indeed make a HUGE difference in our world. I was visiting some friends a few years ago. He is well over six feet tall and about 300+ lbs, while she is a small lady with eight kids. He was very controlling and abusive. He kicked down doors, hit his kids, yelled, screamed and verbally abused his family. He was in the middle of his tirade when I showed up one afternoon. This episode was particularly violent and I was not sure what to do. So I decided to stand between him and his family. This upset him greatly but he respected me and backed off. I was able to de-escalate the situation to the point where he went off to work on his equipment, which gave me a chance to talk to his wife and kids.
To be very clear, I may not have influenced him in any way as he struggles with his life to this very day. However, my peaceful confrontation made a tremendous impact on the lives of his wife and kids. His wife found the strength and support to leave him and she was able to protect herself and those beautiful kids from his violence and abuse. If I took any violent approach to confronting him, I suspect his wife would have come to his defense.
I was scared, shacking and intimidated by a monster of a man out of control. But I found the courage, strength and fortitude to stand between him and his victims. Another man of peace hit the news a couple days ago by taking the exact same approach. This beautiful indigenous man, Nathan Phillips, stepped between four African American men and a whole mob of teens from a local 'Catholic' high school. He sang his song and beat his drum while these teens surrounded him in an attempt to intimidate and scare him. The smug look on their faces show contempt, supremacy and violence. Any violent response by Nathan could easily ended up with him receiving a beat down by these teen thugs.
Photo taken by: Kaya Taitano / Social Media
I will suggest that those who band together to intimidate, engage in violence or conquer others, do so out of weakness, cowardice, greed, lust and ignorance. The only reason these thugs would confront Nathan is because they were in a mob setting. Take any one of them individually and have them stand in front of Nathan and they would shrink as a result of Nathan's power, authority and integrity.
But when people like Nathan stand in his own power, authority and integrity, he manages to tug on the heart strings of love that connects us all. While he stood there alone, his courage influenced others to stand up and speak for what is right, just and decent. The school that these thugs belong to, has been inundated by thousands upon thousands of people, speaking up against this abusive behaviour.
Here in Canada, the same thing is happening as a result of the RCMP invading sovereign territory of Wet’suwet’en First Nation. They are not setting up a checkpoint and temporary detachment as any violent colonizing army would do. But this action is being noticed around the world and I have no doubt that there is a tremendous amount of pressure on the Canadian Government and the energy companies working to exploit the land for their own projects.
When people stand in peace, hold eagle feathers, beat their drums or stand in the way of those who engage in violence, the world resonates and finds the courage to do the same. It only takes one to change the world. For those of you who are angry, hurting, frustrated and violent, you may take out one or two, but your behaviour will not change the world. The violence of others is geared to respond to your violence and it only perpetuates the violence.
However, if we can heal ourselves and stand in our truth with peace and love, those little heart strings start to vibrate around the world, activating the heart strings of others. The music that results is the most beautiful music any of us will ever witness. It takes the highest amount of integrity, honour, courage and strength to pluck the heart string of another spiritual being. It takes an individual of the highest caliber to start the music playing around the world.
I've seen great miracles happen when beautiful spiritual beings stand in that energy, despite the fear they feel inside. I've seen it in small healing circles in the privacy of my own home. I've seen it play out in social media and in politics. While war has traumatized our collective consciousness and blew a crater in our lives and in Mother Earth; peace, courage, honour and integrity will heal it all.
I find great hope in that the conversation is now starting where people start to recognize that there is a difference between 'race' and 'tribes'. Those that work hard to rebuild their tribes don't engage in violent behaviour like scalping, raping, pillaging or eating the flesh of their enemies. Tribes don't rape and pillage the earth, enslave others or govern through violence or an iron fist. Those that focus on race, look for separation, privilege, power and control. Tribes acknowledge that we are all brothers and must work to find peace and ways to coexist with one another.
Tribes walk gently on this earth; red, black, yellow and white! By acknowledging that difference, separation is a thing of the past as our tribes start to stand together in solidarity. Not separated by color but rather joined together through spirit, common intent and brotherhood.
As we confront those who are stuck on the race, violence, conquest and control issues, we can help them heal and find their way back to the tribes of their ancestors. We all have people that we know who are living racially rather than tribally. We have work to do, but we will find a way to help them bridge that gap so that they can abandon their race and rejoin their tribe!!!
When we do that, we free their victims to heal and they will be the first to return to tribe. The violent offenders will find themselves powerless and unable to influence others as a result. That is when their healing will start and it is up to us to be there for them when they surrender to spirit and ask for guidance during that transition.
I've been a witness to many who have done the work. The miracles do in fact happen and it is up to us all to stand in peace to help them all. Bullets, armies, governments and corporations will NEVER accomplish what peace, freedom, respect, honour and love can. Peace is the most powerful on this planet. More powerful than bullets.
