PEACE

The polar opposite of Peace is Apathy.

(Apathy is an overwhelming mixture of fear and resentment in disguise. )

In a condition of Apathy, nothing is possible. In a state of Peace, anything is possible.

Peace is the abiding state of all creation. Other stuff may obscure it from view, but cannot destroy it, any more than a cloud can destroy the sun. Peace is at peace with all things as they are -- even conflict.

A Japanese master once gave a pupil a sheet of paper and a stick of charcoal and asked him to draw his concept of Peace. For half an hour the pupil laboured diligently and finally handed his master back the paper. On it was a drawing of a serene mountain lake, with the mountains, the trees and tufts of woolly cloud floating in a sunny sky perfectly reflected in the unruffled surface of the lake.

The master nodded his appreciation, then took another sheet of paper and stick of charcoal. For less than a minute the charcoal flew and swirled vigorously, then stopped abruptly. The master handed his paper to the pupil.

On it was a crude representation of a thundering waterfall. On the face of the cliff at the very edge of the boiling cataract he saw a tiny bush, clinging for life in a niche in the rocks. In the fronds of this precarious perch a bird had built its nest. On the edge of the nest the bird was feeding morsels of food it had brought back to its chicks, who were eating greedily.

The pupil looked up inquiringly at his master. "That is Peace," the master said quietly. "What you drew me was Stagnation."

Peace is the presence of God. Silence is the language of God; everything else is just static. Find the silence behind the static, and be at Peace. Find the Peace that is at peace with the existence of war, and be at peace.

Peace is with you: go in Peace.