“…every now and then, man is given the opportunity to choose between the ascending path of love and purification or the regressive path of the negative and the destructive…”
Soul and Peace: For ages, in the quest to attain or understand peace, man has often ended up complicating things and getting them entangled perhaps due to the relative nature and variations of peace which could be “worldly,” (built around material attainment and physical comfort), or “divine” (about the blissful inner state of heavenly divine attainment and contentment).
Peace has been defined in various ways by various people. All seem to agree that peace is that state where there is no violence, war, or disturbance.” Yet, such a state is not feasible on earth for it is in the nature of the earth to be conflicted in turmoil at this stage of the evolution of the universe. It is in the nature of the negative force to tempt and drag man down the abyss of hate, violence, and disintegration. Yet it is in the nature of Soul to strive and rise above the fray and gravitate towards a nature and environment of peace because soul is originally a divine creation embodying love and emanating from the ultimate source of love and peace – the heavenly God Kingdom.
Worldly peace could be attained through compromise, confrontation, or by imposition (forced peace). It could also be attained through satisfaction derived from the attainment of material gains. However, neither kind of worldly peace above is sustainable as they can only be temporary or temporal. Sooner or later, one who “attains” such peace would come to understand it’s fleeting nature. Just as Solomon did when he referred to it all as “vanity upon vanity.” Yet the experience of such peace has its place and serves its purpose. It is part of the lessons for soul in its sojourn on earth, to find a way to live, love, and co-exist despite all odds.
Divine/Inner/Spiritual peace is the experience of soul rekindling it’s divinity and reawakening to its true nature of divine bliss beyond the realm of the physical. Soul inspired by everyday interactions of life continues to experience flashes of it’s original nature of peace. With detachment from the passions and love of the physical life and worldly peace, one can find inner peace even while on earth. Such peace is not lost by the elimination of the physical body nor by transition from one world to the other as it is tied to the being-ness of soul. One does not have to seek true peace outside the self for it is inherent in soul, but one certainly has to work to triumph over the challenges of the physical universe in other to rediscover and reconnect with that state of peace which transcends the physical. One has to know the self, learn the virtues, recognize one’s purpose in life, and go about living and fulfilling them.
When one truly finds divine/supreme peace, the lack of worldly peace would mean little as such individual is no longer of the world even though he may sojourn in the world. Such peace offers freedom of soul in place of physical limitations, the comprehension of truth in place of illusion, and the resurrection of true-living in place of death.
This is just an understanding.
For related reading or discussion, see: Violence or Peace on Earth: Early/Primitive Man to the Advanced Man of Today, also by Oliver O. Mbamara
About The Author: Oliver O. Mbamara is a writer, poet, actor, filmmaker, & Attorney. © Jan. 2016 – More on Oliver