Question: The older I get, the more I wonder what has happened to us, as people. Everyone seems so angry, and violence is everywhere. This is supposed to be a season of peace and goodwill. How do I keep from feeling hopeless that there will ever be peace on earth? ~ Seeker of Peace

Answer: Dear Seeker of Peace,

It seems that ever since time began, humans have made war with each other. We can travel the world and see battlegrounds of torture and death, memorialized in statues and museums. The question is not only “why” humans continue to go to war, but “when” will we stop creating it? There are a myriad of socio-political and psychological explanations stating why we can’t live together in peace, but I’m here to address the elephant in the room. 

The problem is actually a spiritual one (about our spirit, or soul). And believe it or not the solution is not purely religious, scientific or atheistic. There is more to us than meets the eye. Life exists within an Energy of Oneness. When human beings    realize what science has proven about who, and what, we are, especially using quantum mechanics, we will see each other differently. We are all made of the same building blocks of life. In fact, NASA just found those same biomolecules in an asteroid in space! 

Yes, we all embrace different cultures. We look, talk, dress and express, in our own unique ways, yet we are all one race – the human race. The illusion of separation from each other, and all creation, is the spiritual sickness that we carry into war. That “separation” is keeping us in a state of fear and aggression towards each other. In reality what happens to you is, at some level, also happening to me. 

As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus this week, let us remember a key message Jesus brought: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) Peace starts from within our own hearts and although not everyone is currently willing, or able, to do that, we can all choose to be that love. Peace isn’t just the absence of war or       conflict. Peace is a Christ consciousness of oneness, love and compassion. Peace will not show up in our world until we embody peace within us. We cannot say we want peace while abusing our neighbor (or ourselves). Peace, like love, is an inside job. 

Catholic priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Let us remember that there is no “other,” there is only One.

Rev. Dr. Karen L. Mitchell, MCS