All We Are Saying...

It is Remembrance Day in Canada today, Veteran's Day in the US. In many countries around the world, today's slogan is "Lest We Forget."

"Lest" means "for fear that".

For fear that we forget... what?

How atrocious war is. How many die. How many are wounded. How war destroys the very core of a nation, its culture, the will of its people.

Today is a holiday. We are supposed to be taking this day off to remember these things. Why? For fear that we forget them.

But how can we "forget" them when we are still at war? We haven't stopped fighting each other long enough to forget anything. We haven't stopped starting new wars. We are still at war, here, there, everywhere.

Sometimes when I see clips of different male species attacking each other full force in the animal world I think that fighting really is just a part of our nature and that it can't be avoided. Even ants battle each other!

But human beings have Reason. We have the ability to discern. We have the capacity to forgive. What is our excuse?

When John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their bed-in in Montreal in 1969 and Lennon was asked how he expected countries and politicians to stop war he simply said, "Declare Peace."

Declare Peace! Can you imagine? It's so simple it's ridiculous. What if we declared Peace in Afghanistan? In Iraq? What would happen?

There is a saying: "What isn't tried won't work."

We will never know unless we try it.

Part of me believes that our endless warring with one another is simply a reflection of our massive inner conflict. How many of us have peace in our own lives? Is it possible for a country to Declare Peace when its own people have no sense of what it means to have inner peace?

These are big questions and I do not have the answers. I do know that having peace of mind or peace in my heart does not come easily. It involves letting go of expectations, practicing non-judgment of others, and forgiving my enemies.

It's a heck of a lot of work. But I still strive for it. I am doing my best to live out these principles today. Why? Pure joy. Having peace makes life worth living.

Inspiring Message of the Day: Striving for inner peace is to have a great purpose. Perhaps if we Declare Peace in our own lives the dream of World Peace can become a reality.