Making Peace

I received a comment to yesterday's blog message that I read as rather negative toward the unfortunate souls stranded in New Orleans. "Anonymous" said he (or she) was upset because the people stuck there seemed to be creating their own problems.

My initial internal response was one of disgust at what "anonymous" had said. None of us has ever been in the horrific situation the people there are caught in. Those who are still there are there only because they could not afford to leave before the hurricane struck, or had no where to go. And now they have even less than they had before the hurricane. People do desparate things when they are in desparate situations. All of us would probably react similarly if we were there. I don't believe the looting and even the shooting has as much to do with morality as it does with survival at this point.

We all know the old axiom, "Don't judge a person until you've walked a mile in his shoes."

My own personal instincts tend to back down in trying situations. Instead of fighting, I am more inclined to seek reconciliation; to get people to work things out together and peaceably. I find inspiration for just about everything in life from the words in a book by Marilyn Gustin, Finding Joy and Peace (Liguori Publications).

Peacemakers are creators of a special kind. They take chaos or conflict or unhappiness and turn it into tranquility. They may do this actively. They may settle quarrels or negotiate disputes or write treaties. Or they may work primarily to prevent conflict. Some people are professional at these peacemaking activities. For most of us, though, the opportunity comes in the midst of our everyday living. Conflicts can happen anytime and anywhere two or more people are on the scene. The person who is practicing [peace] will respond to such conflicts quite differently from those who respond in fear or anger. Such a person will take immediate action to move toward reconciliation.

Peacemaking as described above seems to me to be the higher path in life. It certainly is not an easy one. A peacemaker can be beaten down in his or her tracks while trying to make peace among those with highly charged emotions like anger or fear. Yet I still think it is something worth striving for. If every person tried to be just a little more peaceful, think what an effect it would have on our world.