The Possibilty for Peace

There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.

-  Mahatma Gandhi

Many of us long for peace … in the world, in our country, in our own lives. That longing isn’t naive; it’s for what we know is possible or we couldn’t desire it. It’s an invitation to “come home” to the peace that we know and have known.

Some say we need to learn how to be peaceful. But is that true? We can look to our own experience.

Have you ever felt peace? Not only in moments of meditation or in nature, but in the ordinary stillness that sometimes arises when we stop striving – holding a newborn and feeling your body soften, watching a sunset, walking without a goal. I’m going to guess the answer is yes.

So peace isn’t something to be learned. It’s something that already lives in us – something we return to.

We will have peace in the world when we live as peace.

Because the state of the world isn’t separate from the state of our hearts. If we’re not at peace with ourselves and with others, how can we expect peace in the world? That might feel confronting, but if we truly desire peace, we must be willing to look within.

When we’re at odds with ourselves – battling our own desires, judging others, living in quiet tension – we carry that into our relationships, our work, our leadership, our organizations.

And collectively, that becomes the world we live in.

You might see it here:

– You’ve been trying to lose 22 pounds for 22 years and fight with yourself every day.

– You don’t like the work you do, but you force yourself through it.

– Your significant other or colleague’s actions stir up conflict inside. You want to love them or feel closer, but your judgment of them creates distance.

– The partners in your organization are fighting (not just respectfully disagreeing) with each other about the future direction.

We don’t need to be perfect. But we do need to be honest.

What are we at war with inside ourselves?

What part of us wants to be expressed, but stays silent?

What truth are we withholding – from others, or from ourselves?

Peace doesn’t mean passive. It means we stop fighting what is.

When we allow and welcome what is, peace can arise – and permeate our being.

Each time we meet our own inner conflict with openness instead of resistance, we become more available to others – and more capable of shaping a world that reflects what we deeply know is possible.

Leadership begins there.

It’s up to each of us – not the head of the organization, the politicians, the warriors, the financiers. You. Me. We’re it.

If we want peace in the world, it begins with being peace ourselves – and in our families and organizations. It won’t arrive “some day.”

Peace is only peace now.

By Peggy O'Neal, Founder and Executive Director