peace on earth

I was outside today, smelling the crisp evergreen trees whilst walking home from my Spanish lab. I was listening to the song, "Can't Go Back Now" by the Weepies (which I highly recommend you listen to while reading this post), and the smell of the evergreens got me thinking about the Christmas. Sometimes I wish that the Christmas feeling could stay inside of me all year round. You know, that feeling you get that spreads warmth throughout your entire body; it's the feeling that things are all right in the world; the feeling that makes you want to smile at strangers and hold doors open for them and just be a heck of a nice person to everyone.

But I guess I know that that feeling won't last forever, and it doesn't. Sometimes I wish that the world would stop being so foolish and that everyone would just get along. I wish that we would stop hurting and neglecting one another. I wish that our own needs and desires wouldn't get in the way of other people achieving theirs too. But whenever I think that way, I also admit to myself that if the world was like this, then there would be no point in me being here. My role as a peace maker would be shot because the world wouldn't need peace, instead it would already be well acquainted with it. Besides, I cannot wish of the world something that I often find difficult to do myself.

And so, just as soon as this Christmas feeling hit me, so did this reality. But with this reality did not come despair, as the state of the world isn't something to be pessimistic about. Instead, it is merely the foundation for courage. The world may seem asunder, but if we stretch ourselves, we can see the opportunities for wholeness.

Let me tell you now, peace is not the natural state of things, at least not since human beings and sin entered the picture .Maybe this is why peace is s frightening to us; because it is an unknown concept that we know will require much of us; possibly one that will bleed us dry. Peace requires us to be vulnerable, not something that many of us aim to become. To many, violence seems like the stronger answer. But really, it isn't. To listen to your instincts and defend yourselves, or to take advantage of others in such an impersonal way, that is not strength. Guns and bullets and tanks aren't strength, they are a weak mans mask, covering up with metal what he lacks in spirituality and character. Peace requires so much more of a person. It cannot be bought and sold; it is not present in the population of an army or the force of your fist. Instead it is present in the strength and depth of your heart; in the resilience of your character.

Peace requires humility, forgiveness, vulnerability, accountability and a commitment to working towards something bigger than just the situation we find ourselves in. Violence and war often require none of these things. It takes a strong person to lay down their arms and instead to humbly offer an alternative other than death to their enemy.

I wish more people would realize this: that making peace is harder than holding a grudge, shaking hands in harder than bombing, embracing is harder than exchanging the force of a fist. But if you want to be strong, these things are necessary; they are so much more sustainable and usually end up with everyone being better off. Isn't anything better than the void of nothingness that violence brings? I have to believe that it is. Otherwise, I know that I too would fall into the vicious cycle of violence that so many find themselves in.

If you're reading this, bring a little Christmas spirit to the world this year. Not in the form of decorations or sugar cookies or vanilla-sugar scented candles; not in the form of gift giving or sweetly sung carols. Instead, take a step back from the violence. Don't argue just for the sake of arguing, let go of that grudge, avoid snapping at that terrible driver on University Ave. These things are futile and get us nowhere. Instead do your roommates dishes, forgive the person that hurt you, breathe in and out slow; bring a little peace this Christmas.

photo via (we heart it)