“The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress.” M.B. Eddy
It was Desmond Tutu’s last internationally scheduled speaking performance. My mom had bought tickets for the event so that my family could attend, and, given the subject of the event for the night, it certainly seemed worthy of attendance. As a keynote activist for the Apartheid movement in South Africa, working alongside Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu certainly has a thorough understanding of what it takes to establish peace in our world.
During the event, Mr. Tutu proved to be lively and animated, demonstrating a sense of wisdom and intelligence that is a direct testament of the years he has spent working towards the benefit of humanity. While I was struck by the innocence of his childlike sense of humor, having made statements such as “cheeseburgers and Levi’s (jeans) don’t fall from heaven,” it was his vision of how to achieve world peace that rang through. In the end, it was Mr. Tutu’s request of each and every one of us to become “the spark” of change we wish to see in the world that revealed the prerequisite steps necessary for us to realize world peace.
While each of us may have our own ideas of how can become the “spark” necessary to build world peace from a grassroots level, one individual at a time, for me, I view inner peace as the requisite step necessary to realize peace on the global level.
But, if inner peace is my answer to how I can “be the spark” necessary to bring about change, how can that best be achieved? What would otherwise seem like a tall order becomes easier when you break it down to the most fundamental level, to areas in your life where you feel that you’ve been hurt or wronged by others. It is only by forgiving others that we can revise our mental and emotional state of past events. And, in so doing, we grow in our capacity to love others more fully and learn how to respond to people with a deeper sense of empathy and compassion.
Recently, it has come to my attention that my own inability to let go of past situations has proved destructive in my present relationship with someone I dearly love. Once I recognized the toxic effects of my inability to let go of the past, I saw the necessity of changing my thought about these events in order to bring a greater sense of peace into my present experience. I had to completely eradicate from thought the idea of ever being mistreated or taken advantage of by others for their own selfish purposes.
As I began to ponder this, the idea came to me that I have never been touched or violated, mistreated or abused- because this is an immortal impossibility. Instead of carrying emotions that are destructive to my sense of peace and wellbeing, I can declare the spiritual truth that human history has no place in the realm of the eternal, the divine- all that is immortal and good. I can choose to revise these experiences in my thought by consciously making the decision to not see these circumstances as having had any influence over the sense of good that has unfolded in my life. I can declare that I am untouched, unviolated, whole, and pure, by actively acknowledging that any situation which may seem to have robbed me of my joy never occurred. Furthermore, with this declaration of innocence, this revision of a human past by understanding the spiritual unreality of any pain, I can achieve this desire for “inner” freedom by choosing to forgive.
On a purely individual level, I believe that each one of us desires to experience the best by bringing out the best in others. We want to bring out the good in people, because in this way only can we experience the fullest sense of love that is capable of change. We don’t reach an active demonstration of the golden rule by refusing to forgive others. We do it by loving the good that is inherent in each and every one of us, and striving daily to bring that out.
With this understanding in mind, I have come to the realization that if I am to be the spark that I wish to see in the world, I must yield in humble recognition to the source that makes everyone inherently valuable and worthy of being loved. I must, in the words of St. Francis, be willing to be made "an instrument of Thy peace." I must allow myself to declare that the pain from past experiences is not a part of my make-up, my disposition. I must consciously strive to demonstrate that sense of love that refuses to see others as being less than good and capable of mistreating others. I must learn to love, and yield to the humble recognition of a sense of Good so impenetrable that I refuse to see anyone as less than Spiritual. I must live my life as a "transparency for the truth and love of God."
"Time past, and time present,
both, may pain us,
but time improved,
Is eloquent in God's praise."
-M.B. Eddy
