It hit me that Tolstoy had it right: War and Peace. We are organized into two teams: warriors for war and warriors for peace. We are playing a big game. There are times when more players are on the warriors for war side and times when the warriors for peace are winning.
As long as we remain separate from God we are warriors for war, though we may think we are peaceful. What matters is our motivation—where the action comes from. If we perform a peaceful action from a place of turmoil the action will be perceived as traumatic and agitated. It is not the action itself that necessarily decides the side it is on; it is the motivation that counts. How many times have we committed apparently innocent actions to only get yelled at and then say, “What?!”? Unable to acknowledge where we are coming from causes us much trouble. We are lying to ourselves and others.
Warriors for war may appear to be nonaggressive. And yet when we investigate deeper into their actions, what they do comes from a place of anger, separation, alienation or something that causes pain. Pleasure-seeking is seen as peaceful, yet it too encourages pain: pain of loss, pain of being away from one’s true self, pain of looking in the wrong direction away from God. So if we are to say what the main element is, it is pain for oneself and others.
Warriors of peace feel very different. Their focus is inward—looking to God within the Heart, not the mind or thoughts. Motivation turns to God’s will, not my will. So though their actions may appear harsh, they will be experienced as love. Soldiers can be and many times are warriors for peace.
So we have to be really careful not to judge based on action or our narrative’s judgement. The internal motivation is what to feel. If the person says, “It was not my intention to hurt,” that may not be true. Ask yourself, are you a warrior for peace or a warrior for war? Be careful to answer honestly.
Share this Post