Peace has a price.
What does peace mean to you? Is it just silence or the absence of noise? What if I told you that you can have peace in the middle of the loudest room, or the noisiest child?
Would you believe me, or think I was crazy. It all comes down to what your definition of peace really is.
And what you are prepared to pay for it.
I met a man a couple of years ago who so deeply impressed me. He was older than I am, yet he seemed more vital, and more alive than I felt. His hair was thinning, and he had no particular form that was outstanding.
You could pass him on the street and never know that you were in the presence of someone wonderful, someone compassionate, someone who could change your life.
Yet he left an impression on me that was riveting, and to this day I still regard him as one of the greatest people I have ever met.
There was a calmness about him, a humility and an overall peace that seemed to flow from him. In his presence it was hard to be angry, because you never felt threatened.
It was easy to feel heard, because he truly wanted to know about your life. It was painless to take his advice, because it truly felt like he was sharing the gift of his experience, his knowledge and his wisdom out of a true desire to serve, to help and to heal.
It was easy to be at peace with him, because he was at peace with himself.
Ever since meeting him, I have tried to emulate his goodness and strength. In talking with him, I found that he has studied for many years, learning his wisdom line upon line, precept upon precept.
Never hiding away from the truths that required him to pass through difficult times, and always being willing to pass on what he had learned with others.
In talking to him, I sensed that this was not something that had come easily to him, and he had experienced his share of pain, of sadness and of struggle. Yet he had allowed them to remove the rough edges from his soul, rather than harden him into a person he didn’t want to be.
And the person who was left has helped so many people.
I learned from him that peace is possible, if we are willing to do the work. It’s hard, sometimes so much harder than we thought possible, especially in the times when it seems so counter-intuitive.
But this man has come to know himself, and make peace with himself, in a way that I am trying to emulate every day.
This work, which has become more than I could have ever imagined, is a part of that emulation. Through it, I seek to understand myself, and at the same time try to help others.
It’s what he would do.
Through it, may we all find a greater peace, and a greater love.
Together.
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings