1. freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility
2. freedom or the cessation of war or violence, freedom from civil disorder, freedom from dispute or dissension between individuals or groups
3. (the peace) a ceremonial handshake or kiss exchanged during a service in some churches, symbolizing Christian love and unity
How to be at peace or in a state of peace seems to be an important question for most of use. It is interesting that Webster's also classifies peace as a noun. Is peace a person, place or thing? It makes more sense to me to classify peace as a verb or an adjective. Is peace always desirable would be another good question? Certainly freedom from war and violence would at first appear to be very desirable. I know that I personally wouldn't want to be at war with other living beings. To much pain and suffering involved. Would I be able to maintain a peaceful attitude if someone tried to hurt me or someone I truly loved. The answer is definitely NO. I certainly can't claim to be totally enlightened at this point in life. The will to live is to strong and the desire for peace is also to strongly embedded into my system. Will the rest of the inhabitants of this world and myself ever enter into the garden of peace? I doubt it given the history. Maybe there will be a place in time and space that we will live in peace with each other and ourselves but I am not waiting for the second coming or the next apostle of peace. Peace can only come when universal homeostatic mechanisms are winning the constant juggling act. When catabolic and anabolic actions are in balance. For me peace looks more like surrender to the process of life and death. Hard to do when someone or something is attacking us. Our natural survival instinct comes reflexively into play. Should I try to over ride this reflexive response? Would that make me more peaceful or just more dead? Some say that it is better to die then to defend oneself from harm. Will we go to some imaginary peaceful heaven if we can over ride our self protective reflexes or will we just come to the end of our lives and reenter the void from which we came and gain no real peace in the ultimate chaos of the universal play of construction and destruction? What experiences this state of peace if we could arrive at this state of being? Would we get bored with this peaceful state? If peace is freedom from disturbance, quiet and tranquility then we are doomed to not being at peace since all movement creates sound and disturbance. Is peace really death then or lack of movement?
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment