The Path of Peace

Let us not, in our desire to prevent harm
from coming to our loved ones,
join with those advocates who are
the source of harm.
Anger and blame, while seeming to begin
in milder tones,
can easily lead in this direction.
Righteous indignation about a complex situation
that requires deep reflection
can also lead toward alignment
with the misguided.
Instead, let us seek the place of stillness within,
from which all decisions about how to
end conflict must derive.
If we are angry or self-righteous,
we will produce a solution that is
fueled by anger and will not achieve
the end we seek.
If we are gentle, if we mean no harm,
our understanding of how to proceed
will be gentle and others will feel their
hearts soften through our understanding.
We must believe that even when
harm is being done in ways that
our hearts conceive of as grievous,
that even then we are meant to follow the
path of peace,
the path from which no additional anger
or violence will grow.
Our commitment to this way does not make
us victims but peacemakers and servants
of the Divine.
For the Divine Oneness recognizes
all children of God as emanating from the One,
not only the good, but also those who do harm.
Let us, in our efforts, then,
hold all as part of the Oneness,
and refrain from seeking retribution,
trusting that what is right, and true,
and of the light will prevail
if we cling to it.
And if we are called to bear the pain
of our unwillingness to use force
or to justify rage,
let us bear that pain with truth and courage,
knowing that the path of peace and love
is the only path that will create lasting
change in the world,
and that those who most desire peace
must begin with themselves.
– Julie of Light Omega –