As human beings, we have a common responsibility to build a more peaceful society. – Dalai Lama
“I’m Home!” – How well would your house do if it were run the way the world runs?
What does that mean?
I like this quote, as it is simple common sense. We wouldn’t run a family or a business the way we run the world. That just wouldn’t make sense.
We have our own voice, and our own guiding principles. We may not be able to change the world on our own, but we can influence our family and those around us.
Looking at it from the other direction, how well would your family, business (or work), town, city, etc work if it were the world in miniature?
This block just declared war on that block because they partied too late into the night. We would make it our responsibility to call the police or otherwise try to intervene. Because that’s no way for people to behave.
Why is working together important?
We humans are largely tribal in nature. At first it was our little band against the next. Then affiliations and groups came together for mutual benefit. Eventually, we formed towns, cities, states and now countries. Along the way, we have found ways to work in larger and larger groups. The next step is to start working together on an even larger scale.
Yes, there will be problems, there always are. But why should we let that stop us? If we were the kind of creature that shied away from difficult things, we’d still be living in caves. We would still be afraid of the night, and worry about how to keep the fire going, or to restart it if it were to go out.
This is an idealistic quote. I don’t expect to get there in my lifetime. But I must say that all great journeys start somewhere. We can all take steps in our own lives and in our immediate area. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the progress of humanity towards peaceful coexistence has been even slower, at times even going backwards.
But we can work together. Not in pointless gestures or strongly worded letters to the editor. We need to lead by our words and then back our words with action. Not in raising awareness, but by trying solutions. Not by fixing the world, but by fixing ourselves. Does anyone reading this live in such a great place that there is nothing you can do in your home, your neighborhood, or your town?
Where can I apply this in my life?
As was mentioned before, there is a lot going on in our lives. A peaceful society covers everything from Peace On Earth down to harmony in the house. And it covers everything between them. We tend to focus on the big things, but they are usually beyond our ability to make any significant direct impact.
Instead, I would urge you to take the time to consider the most local of issues, yourself. How peaceful are you? How well do you interact with others? Or are you the person they used as the model for the “Does Not Play Well With Others” t-shirt?
I suppose that it could also be taken one step farther back, and work on finding peace within yourself, but that gets away from the concept of society. I will leave it to you to determine if you need to work on finding peace within yourself and how best to proceed with that task.
If you can’t be at peace with others, how can you possibly be an agent for peace in society, much less in the world? Can you figure out what about others causes you to be grumpy, or worse? What beliefs or attitudes to you hold that contributes to the issues you have with others?
Once we can interact well with most others, as there will always be people who are purposely difficult, we can start to work on specific aspects of our interactions in society. In the smallest circle, we have our family and closest friends. How peaceful is that microcosm of society? Or do you have your work cut out for you?
Going a little bigger, we get to our physical neighborhood. How well do your neighbors get along? Do you even know your neighbors? Where do they work? What do they like to eat or do? What is their favorite color? Do you have much in common with them? That is always a challenge for me, not being much of a people person.
Then there are the more distant personal contacts, the rest of your friends, your co-workers, and your social contacts. How well do you get along with them? How well does that scale of society work for you? What can you do to make the interactions smoother and more peaceful?
Yes, it would be nice to change the world. But let’s start in our own back yard, and take care of ourselves and our friends first. If we can do that, we will have far greater numbers to apply to the larger issues. But first we must build momentum.
From: Twitter, @DalaiLama
confirmed at : it’s his own feed…
Photo by Daniel Hackney
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