Peacemaker.
What’s your role in life? I ask, because I’m honestly curious. I think so many of us spend our lives trying to figure out what we are supposed to do with our time here on this good earth.
Sure, you can spend your day in the pursuit of things that make you happy, but after a while you’ll come to the realization that ‘things’ are never enough.
That if you want a true sense of purpose, you have to create an alignment of what you are good at with how you can truly serve in the world.
There is a Japanese concept called ‘Ikigai’ that explains this perfectly. Ikigai is the alignment of what you love doing, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can make money at.
When you find that thing, it’s like the universe unlocks it’s secrets, and the world around you shifts into an alignment of power and possibility.
My Ikigai seems to be the role of peacemaker.
It seems strange, and somehow ironic, that someone who grew up in a house that had more than its fair share of arguments should find a love of bringing people together. As a child I would try time after time to get my mother and father to stop fighting.
One time I even went as far as to smash a glass in my hand, hoping that the sight of blood coming from my palm might be enough to stop them fighting outside our house, and come back inside.
It wasn’t completely successful, but I’ve learned a lot since then.
Now, I find a deep sense of joy and purpose in helping people find peace inside their own soul, and in facilitating a conversation between two people who have come upon a point of contention that they cannot overcome by themselves.
The more proficient I become, the greater I see a need for this skill in the world.
Yet for all I can do in the cause of peace, I am powerless without people who desire it.
Because in any conflict, there must be a desire for peace in all of those who are party to the contention. If each person comes willingly, with a deep desire to understand and a strong passion for peace, then the process becomes one of conversation, compassion and cooperation.
If they come with a desire to be proven right, and to force the acquiescence of the other, then the process becomes infinitely more complicated, as we focus on healing hearts and soothing the souls.
That’s a more difficult proposition, but it can be done, and can be infinitely sweeter when it occurs.
If we would seek to enjoy our time here in this world, then there can be no greater cause than peace, and no greater reward than the renewal of love and friendship between those who are now at war.
May you find peace this day, and always.
And I wonder…. What’s you Ikigai?
Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings