After a weekend of political violence with an assassination attempt of a former president and presidential candidate, I can’t think of a more relevant topic than that of peace. What happened is being condemned on both sides of the political spectrum, but it remains clear that the temperature in this country is exceedingly high and we could all benefit from more peace, both on a macro level in the world and in a micro level in our own homes.
I recently heard educator and dating coach, Debbie Greenblatt, speaking about peace as it relates to marriage relationships on the Deep Meaningful Conversations podcast by Alex Fleksher and Rivki Silver. I’m going to summarize what she said as I think it is valuable for ALL relationships. Her words struck me hard and I believe that if we all took them to heart, the world would be a more peaceful place. Here are some of the ideas.
Peace is inherent in the universe. Since the creator is everything, we are all somehow connected, and therefore there is unity in the deepest place.
The root of all strife is individuation; that I see myself as different or separate than you.
Debbie Greenblatt
So what creates disunity?
Disunity is created by a healthy sense of individuation.
The root of all strife is this individuation: I see me as me and you as you.
I see myself as different or separate than you.
But we have to remember that there IS unity at the core but sometimes we have to wade through all the external circumstances and emotions to find it.
Peace is not about sameness; it’s about different things coming together.
Peace is like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces are all contoured differently and there is a way for them to fit together to create a picture. EVERY piece matters. One missing piece and the the picture is not complete.
How do we get past the hurt that differences and individuation often bring?
We have to go back to that bigger picture of what we want to create. Instead of being myopic, try to see the bigger picture.
The goal is to live with a bigger picture in mind and in doing so, that creates more peace.
What do you think about this idea? Please let me know in the comments below.
