WORLD PEACE

Some of us humans live our lives in peace, but many of us don’t.  Perhaps the most fundamental peace that all human beings seek is our own inner peace.  The Buddha taught that regardless of our circumstances, regardless of what storm might be raging all about us, peace can be found by looking within ourselves.  We are the source of our suffering and we have the means to quell that suffering through our own thoughts.  As true as this may be, only the rarest of all people can consistently achieve inner peace in the presence of a maelstrom of personal turmoil or physical violence.  We feel that we require a peaceful family, a peaceful community, a peaceful nation, and maybe even a peaceful world to live our own lives comfortably in peace.  As a starting point for a discussion on world peace I wrote a poem (or perhaps more accurately song lyrics which can be sung to Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ ). This poem suggests different approaches to world peace.  Unsurprisingly, writing this poem has contributed nothing to bringing peace to the world.  It may do nothing more than enumerate many paths that have proven not to lead to world peace.  There may exist no path to world peace as several stanzas imply.  What do you think?  Would you recommend pursuing any of the approaches suggested in the poem?  

It was three in the morning and I was awake.
No peace in my heart so I felt not so great.  
I live in a world that’s a dangerous place.
    I wish I could rest and be chillin’
A world at peace is something I’d take
    Along with a tune by Bob Dylan.

I turned to my spirit searching for peace.
Would Buddha or Jesus give me release
From the worries and fears of dreams in my sleep
    And from wars out there a-waging?
Will they teach us the way to create world peace
    Or is hope for mankind a-fading?

Although Jesus taught me to forgive and to love.
He’ll send angel warriors from high up above
And most will die by the sword of His love
    At the time of his second arriving
Will we have world peace we all dream of
    Or will all this violence be frightening?

The Buddha sat by his bodhi tree
A man of peace and love was he.
Each person could loving and peaceful be
    By sitting in deep contemplation
And by this example all mankind should see
    A world of peace awaken.

So the spreading of love sounds perfect to me
Love begets love, we all learn how to be
But when will love set us all free?
    Its been two thousand years since Jesus     
And do we have world peace for all to see
    Or is there still much fighting between us?

Jesus taught turning our cheeks was the thing.
Non-Violence was practiced by Gandhi and King.
Is world peace something non-violence will bring
    As taught in sociology courses?
Or will our oppressors their evil swords swing
    And litter the world with our corpses?

Ignorance and poverty is surely a source
Of turmoil and conflict that only gets worse
Without some intervention to alter its course.
     So good education is needed
And with a growing economy strong as a horse
     Surely poverty will be stampeded.

The robot Gork came down from space.
If earthlings chose violence and not God’s grace,
Gork would kill the whole human race.
    So the fear of Gork bent their will
And all the world kept peace in place
    On the day that the earth stood still.

Now Globalization has become the new thing.
Will deals with the Kremlin and especially Beijing
Make everyone well and economies sing
    As our interests become intertwining?
Or will nations compete to see who’ll be king
    And result in entwinements unwinding. 

What is world peace, just the absence of war?
Without human rights peace won’t get too far.
And for you to have peace wherever you are.
     You can’t have lots of gang fighting
And you’ll need inner peace to follow your star
    And stop anger and fear from igniting.   

People sleep peacefully in bed at night
Only ‘cause others stand ready to fight.
A world full of wrongs must be made right
    Though isolation might seem alluring,
Must we meet true evil with all or our might
    For peace to become enduring?

Was there peace on earth before mankind?
When predator killed prey did nobody mind?
When humans appeared what did they find?
    A world with peace abounding?
Or were they constantly looking both front and behind
    In fear of all creatures surrounding?

Now peace is a most desirable state.
So maybe we should simply rest and await
For strife and terror and war to abate.
     Yes! By simply doing nothing
Peace will evolve and the hate will deflate
     And we’ll all be loving and trusting.

When conflicts arise betwixt and between
And solutions are much harder than seemed
And everything’s muddled, not clear or clean,
    A thought occurs that is frightening.
Maybe the peace we seek is only a dream.
    And the noose at our necks is tightening!    

So my friends do you hear my call?
Find a path to world peace to save us all.
On your efforts the world may rise or fall
    Take action with no complaining
With peace at stake we all must stand tall
     And find a plan in the time remaining.