EMBRACING PEACE
The Seven Paths of Sustainable
Peace are a way to achieve individual, community and global peace. Peace is not just the absence of war;
it is a critical element of our lives that defines how we must live to actually achieve permanent peace. Living
in peace is something most of us have never experienced. We lived through the cold war, Vietnam,
the gulf war, Grenada, the Iraq war, the war on drugs, the war against terrorism, the Middle East wars, the war in Yugoslavia,
African wars, revolutions around the globe, the battle for the inner cities, gang wars, corporate wars, etc. Our
language and operating metaphors are based on a warlike mentality and as Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t the
most important thing, it is the only thing.” We carry this win / lose mentality into all phases of
our lives including the war between the sexes. Everything we do seems to be framed as a battle or a competition.
It should come as no surprise that framing our lives in warlike or competitive terms will lead to violence and warlike
behavior. How do we stop this? Where do we begin? What has to happen
to move from this warlike approach to life to an approach embracing peace?
Peace is not a passive or soft concept. Peace doesn’t just happen.
Peace is a very difficult and yet achievable goal that will take a lot of commitment and effort to achieve.
Peace can also be illusory or transient if we are not truly committed to embracing peace as our goal and continually
working to make it happen. Temporary peace is a good first step but the real goal is a sustainable peace
– a peace that lasts a long time and becomes the dominant state of ourselves and the world we live in. To
achieve sustainable peace, we need to be committed to and achieve:
- A sustainable planet with a sustainable ecology system and a sustainable self with sustainable health and basic
needs met
- Sustainable relationships with others with a sustainable
ecoculture system and evolved emotional intelligence
- Sustainable success
with a sustainable economic system that supports the pursuit of happiness
- A commitment to peace as the overall global and individual goal and as the integrating concept for individuals, communities,
nations and the world
- A peaceful purpose and ideology that develops
sustainable education and learning and leads to sustainable wisdom
- Peaceful
planning, change and innovation that moves us toward our sustainable goals and a strong spirituality that illuminates our
visions for a peaceful world and inspires our creativity
- Peaceful leadership
and stewardship that energizes our efforts and defines success in peaceful and sustainable ways
These seven requirements for reaching a sustainable peace define the Seven Paths of Peace. Embracing
these paths and embracing peace means working on all paths and levels to achieve individual and world peace. Embracing
peace includes:
* Embracing a peaceful environment, a peaceful life and connecting to the earth
* Embracing a peaceful
society, a peaceful culture and celebrating diversity
* Embracing right action, sustainable success and a peaceful economic
system
* Embracing peaceful & loving beliefs / values and using them to drive all decisions & actions
*
Embracing a peaceful purpose, the wisdom of our elders and lifelong learning
* Embracing and imagining a peaceful vision
and a peaceful spirituality
* Embracing spiritual energy, sustainable leadership and a peaceful definition of success
