Exemplifying the homonym...

This morning my life coach led me through an exercise to increase my inner peace by quieting the voice that tells me that I am less than I am. Having that kind of inner peace is more than just something cute to do. It is necessary for a person to become what they were put here to be. During this process, I could feel the rush of the tides within me, but could see that it was all inside, none was getting out. By following in line behind the silent rules of society that place the ownership over self on you- a mere person, instead of giving up ownership over self to God, I fell victim to the farce that it is bad form to admit that you have something wonderful to offer. That would be considered conceit, or worse, pride. So instead of releasing and celebrating the gifts we're given, they become stifled and wasted. I can't imagine anything worse than wasting a gift from God Himself.

Peace, though, is a tricky concept. Most people understand it in "human" terms, as some idealistic theory. But I noticed something today. In order to truly understand peace, you have to pull back, all the way back, and just observe. For the past, well thirty years I guess, I have been trying to be a writer by trying to be a writer. The result has been my knocking into wall after wall, frustrated and full of doubt. But, today, in pulling away from the situation, myself, "reality", I saw the whole. I saw that I have been filled with this overwhelmingly large and beautiful gift and that, in order to take my place in the universe, I have to let it out, or risk spitting in the face of the One who gave it to me (meanwhile living my life in misery and not in truth).

This realization illustrates why I was so filled with joy at the announcement of President Obama's honor of receiving this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Obama does not look at the idea of peace with blinders on. He has the blessed ability to see things from afar and work within the realm of the whole. He is not tied to sides, to country, or to the desire to be right. He is tied to one thing only- peace. I think the best example of this is his handling of the argument between Sgt. James Crowley and Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who were entangled in a serious dispute over one of the most sensitive subjects in America today. Obama was castigated by the public for a comment he made related to the case. Did he waste time defending himself? No. Did he waste time explaining himself? No. Did he pick one of the gentlemen's sides and argue it? No. He apologized for his wording, yet stuck to what he had said, and invited the two men to his home for a beer to settle their concerns. And, the result? The men apologized and made peace with each other, Mr. Gates realizing that, "in the end, this is not about me at all".

It's not. At all. And Obama, unlike many of us, sees that. He doesn't just consider the effects of his actions as President on himself, or on his "party". He takes into account the effects on all people in all countries and all generations- current and future. This brings to mind a line from one of the best songs I have ever heard, entitled Playing God: "You don't deserve a point of view if the only one you see is you."

People may try to tear this down, making claims that it is wrong. But those are the people who see peace in human terms. They are not looking at the whole. They are looking for specific tangible physical things, like scientists who claim evolution simply because they cannot see God. These people can't see the whole, and that the whole is what we need most. Anyone can pass laws or change numbers, but how many people, how many presidents, would invite two men to his house for a beer to settle a problem? One.

Obama doesn't hide, make excuses, or try to defend his gift, and because of that, he is my inspiration to better reveal my own. Because that is the only way to create peace in this world. If we were all true to our place in this life, putting responsibility over our paths in the hands of our Creator, instead of foolishly thinking we as humans could handle such a job, every piece of the puzzle would come together, and all would be at peace.


If I'm not being whom I was put here to be, I am like an invisible ghost just roaming the Earth with no direction.




Lucky day, you get a bonus photo! I had to add this one, cause I'm just so excited! Though, I did not take it myself, of course. Props to my friend Tim who took this on my trip to Chicago last summer. Obama is looking kind of shiny, isn't he? Hmmm.