Thank you to Alex for commenting on the last post pointing to the new “Classroom” section on this blog! Alex says it precisely – “It sort of feels too complicated and very vast for me.” This is exactly the challenge of Peace and Power. It seems so simple, but in fact it is very vast and very complicated. I attribute this paradox in part to the fact that all of us know, at a deep level, the meaning of being in the world where “Peace and Power” prevails – we actually have all experienced times when this is our experience, and it truly feels so wonderful. The times may be rare, but they tend to occur in our relationships with people we love deeply and who are close to us in our daily lives – the relationships that give us comfort and that make us feel good. But when we begin to think that the ways of being in those relatively private spaces might also be brought into the public realm, where there are very different “norms” of behavior – it just feels too good to be true!
But I know, from experience, that keeping the ideals alive, and striving to live by them in all interactions – this makes a huge difference. To be sure, it is not always possible, and the ideal still is all too rare. But even the slightest shift in my own intentions, in being always aware of my own “peace and power” words and actions – this does shift almost every interaction and situation in some significant way. It is a way of living and of being.
For those interested in Peace and Power in the classroom, you might want to check out the “Nurse Educator Praxis” blog – we post ideas about using peace and power in the classroom on that blog. Even if you aren’t connected to a classroom – the illustrations of the making possible the vastness of peace and power in everyday life might be helpful!
Peace & Power 