Have you ever thought of what it would be like to have world peace? Well, you can stop wasting your time because it will never happen. At least that is my opinion. If you look back at history, there was never a time that was free of conflict. Even the dinosaurs fought each other. The irony is this: humans evolved something dinosaurs never had, reason, yet we don’t always choose to use it. We can reflect, anticipate consequences, and choose restraint. Yet repeatedly, we don’t. Instead of using reason to rise above our instincts, we often use it to justify them.
Another theory of mine is that maybe we are placed on this world to endure the conflict around us. Sort of like a test to see how you would do when the teacher leaves the room. Do you engage in the battles around you, or do you try to turn a negative into a positive?
I once read an uplifting story of a man that was angry every day because children would cut across his yard to save a few steps. The anger was becoming a terrible part of his day. One day, he decided to let it go. He placed a bench along the path. The kids started using the bench, and shortly thereafter, the man would go out and sit with them. He started to learn about their lives and shared his own stories. Both he and the kids began to look forward to their conversations. The situation that once caused anger was now a highlight of his day. His grass was no longer perfect, but it was never meant to be. What grew instead was a human connection.
In today’s world, do you feel division in your country, your state, or even within your own community? This is why I have little hope for world peace in my lifetime. If we cannot find respect, compassion, or compromise with our own neighbors, I see little chance of expanding beyond our own towns, the country, and the world.
However, I do have hope we can make a dent if we become conscious of how to turn a negative situation into a positive. Let’s face it, human nature will more likely make it hard to succeed, but if we are open to trying, one good deed may plant a seed. If we plant 10 trees but only one grows, we still have one tree that will continue to seed others.
We are more alike than we are different. Remember that the next time you come across an irritating neighbor or a point of view you do not understand. I like to believe there is common ground in every interaction. The hard part isn’t finding it; it’s committing to look for it. Maybe we were never meant to have peace in this world. Maybe it is a daily test for us to face our discontent and rise above it. To honor kindness instead of malice, to embrace love where we find hate, with the resolve to try again when we fail.
Patricia A Woods
