Starting this course again has rekindled my spark of creativity in regards to what I am working towards. I'm aware that what I do and how I think is radical. I'm ok with that. In fact, I think it is necessary, as to paraphrase Einstein, we can't solve problems with the same thinking that created them. We are deeply disconnected from ourselves, each other, and nature. I truly don't believe that healthy humans do the harm that we do on all these levels. I am deeply aware of the ways language got us into this mess and the ways it supports its perpetuation. I'm always clarifying my wording and thoughts, looking for ways to use language to express what is in my heart and align my living with my vision. But more so, I truly believe that to change our thinking, we need to change our language. Our language both reflects and initiates individual and social transformation, much like art and music, I suppose. So, I'm looking for language that both reflects my vision and shapes my living.
The phrase Culture of Peace is something that I've used, but I haven't quite clarified for myself what that means. I've also been looking to rename the work I do because I don't think that the words Peacemaking, Peacebuilding, or Restorative Justice quiet say it; they are also very loaded terms that have come to mean many things to many people--none of which define for me what I'm after. What I'm after is more radical; more wholistic. I'm playing with the idea of cultivation; of growing; seed by seed--connection by connection--a culture of peace. What does that mean?
Upon first consideration, to me it means a culture deeply connected to nature such that nature is central to systems design in all forms. It is a culture that holds empathy, caring, respect, love, and connection with and for all life as the primary goals for all interaction, including interaction with ourselves, others, nature, and life. It is the idea that tending to small moments and opportunities with these principles in mind adds up to changes in the greater system. It involves a total and radical paradigm shift that places these values at the core and forefront of all thought and action. It involves taking inventory of how our language, our actions, our feelings, and thoughts play out in the various arenas of relationship: with ourselves, others, nature, and life. It involves learning and implementing new tools with humility and diligence. It involves caring enough to do the work necessary to make the changes needed. It involves clarifying our truth, speaking up, taking a stand, not giving up. It involves believing in others and ourselves and the possibility of radical transformation and a peaceful, regenerative human culture in harmony with nature--not a singular culture, mind you, but a culture of cultures that holds love, peace, and nature as their central orientation.
What is a language of peace?
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