Patterns of Peace: Threads in the Human Tapestry ~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Peter Barreda, June 19, 2004 (Material copyright 2004, all rights reserved)

We spend our lives weaving the threads of existence into a vast tapestry that spans the whole of our history and our culture. We work desperately to force the weave into patterns we think we like, that we've been taught are righteous and moral, without thinking much to question these pre-conceived standards of behavior. It is, after all, more comforting to believe without question, and doubt is an unpleasant thorn in one's side. We favor those that weave as we weave, whose threads are the same colors as ours, whose patterns match our patterns. We speak proudly and loudly of which patterns are most correct, and of course these are the patterns we've been taught to practice. We stand at the top of the hill and look proudly around us and think we are the virtuous ones, the tolerant ones, the benefactors and saviors of all that we see. But a loom that is forced cannot follow the natural course of things. A tapestry created with excessive intent and manipulation can never become a tapestry of enduring strength.       The affairs of Humankind are as ambiguous and debatable as the sky is wide, so to argue too strongly or certainly that one course is better than another is a pointless endeavor. To paraphrase Chuang-Tzu, the famous Taoist philosopher, if you and I are discussing a point, and you get the better of me in the debate, does that necessarily make you right and me wrong? Or if I win the debate, does that make my position the correct one? Of course not. All sides can argue their point unto the death, and the issue will remain unresolved. They may debate and hate and fight and kill until there is not a single person standing on the planet and still the issue will remain unclear. Each side believes it is the right and the virtuous one, so to stand too firmly in the windstorm of ideas is to crack like a brittle twig. To be assured that one's position is absolutely correct is to be blind to that same assuredness in others. It is to proclaim, with stupid confidence, "Everybody is a fool but me."       Contrarily, the affairs of nature and the universe when studied on a wider scale are not ambiguous at all. The elements of reality weave within and without each other in a beautiful dance of precision, choreographed by eternity. We see the beauty of stars as they sweep through the vastness of space, communities of galaxies clustered into their own little corners of the void. In the cold reaches of infinity matter finds itself, and with open arms shares the secret energy of the universe. Heat and life embrace and grow and evolve beyond the boundaries of the imagination. These threads of the universal tapestry have developed through their natural tendencies to support each other and work with each other in a display of harmony and effectiveness that we can only dream of. It is this weave that we must emulate, this pattern we must adopt. It is a pattern of cooperation rather than domination.       Since no position is absolute, no particular group can claim itself morally justified to command and control another, to attack or enslave or otherwise dominate a weaker culture. I say this not out of some naive view of human affairs-- I fully understand and concede our violent history, the savage nature of our origins, the evolutionarily merciless manner that we've interacted for longer than we can remember. "Might makes right" has indeed been the long-standing slogan of the human race, and we have exercised it again and again, tirelessly, for many thousands of years. But we must come to a point in our development as a species when we can move beyond this, when we realize that what "might" actually achieves is not right, but rather victory. This is fine if you are the victor, unfortunate if you are the vanquished. The problem is that no victory is eternal, and the vanquished will usually resurface with their problems and anger redoubled for their suffering. It has been the norm in the history of human conflict to identify an enemy and eliminate him. And where there was no conflict, an imbalance of power often proves to be enough. The powerful overrun the weak, anger and injustice springs forth hatred and resentment, and such powerful, culturally-embedded emotions endure for many thousands of years. We see the truth of this around us, every day.       So if victory is an ephemeral condition of questionable effectiveness, might we not perhaps reconsider our approach? Perhaps we should not seek victory, but balance, as the universe at large has achieved. After all, if one were to ask what it is that we all ultimately want, the reply will undoubtedly be that the world should achieve such ideals as peace, justice, equality-- essentially we seek a state of harmony in human affairs. But we will never-- absolutely never-- achieve this harmonious state through force and battle. It is impossible to coerce peace and acceptance out of a people that do not agree with you. As noble as you believe your position to be, your opponent believes the same about their position. So the most effective course of action is not to force your ways upon others, but to arrive at a worldview in which we are all one nation, one extended family, discussing our differences. In such a world there would not be a "we" (who are right) and a "they" (who are wrong). One way or another we are all right, to varying degrees. It must not be our goal to make others believe as we do, but rather to figure out how all of our beliefs and opinions may coexist. If we do not separate ourselves into "us" and "them," we may be able to say something like "Some of us are this way, and some of us are that way-- how can our different ways meet?"       To say that all sides of a point are "right" does not justify the acts of barbaric violence that we have recently witnessed, whichever side they were on. Rather, it means that we must stop defining people by their actions, whether we approve of those actions or not. Instead we must deal with their issues, and work to resolve our differences. Currently we identify people that behave in ways we disapprove of, label them enemies, and strive to eliminate them. To react in this way is to perpetuate a cycle of violence that is literally without end. What we must learn to do is to act not out of indignation, but out of a sincere desire to bring a balance to the theater of human affairs.       It is this kind of balance that is so prevalent in the universe around us, inherent to the nature of all things. Rivers and mountains flow peacefully around each other, moss grows in the most beneficial environment, clouds go where the wind flows and ocean currents move in a lovely ballet whose stage spans the entire planet. Of course, the natural harmony we see around us today is a result of ages of geological cataclysm, but in this way we can clearly see that the age of conflict is a temporary one. We as a species have certainly experienced enough conflict-- when will we be ready for peace?        Each element of the universe is a thread in the most elegant tapestry ever woven. But be very clear that this harmonious picture of nature is not merely a poetic metaphor of Humanity's potential. It is a reality, a blueprint, of what we must aspire to. Just as our terrestrial ecology is a natural function of the progress of universal evolution, so is Human cultural development. We have passed through long periods of unrest and violence-- there is abundant evidence of this in the course of Human history. But how long this period of violence lasts is in part up to us. I say "in part" because of the disconnectedness present in our society. It is not enough for an enlightened few to realize the need for harmony. Nor is it enough to popularly proclaim the desire for peace, no matter how loudly. We must sincerely want it as a society, across the wide spectrum of cultures, or it cannot be achieved. Whether we are ready to move beyond our violent past remains to be seen.       Humankind is a crucial element of this magnificent universal tapestry, and we must learn to weave the threads of our own lives with as much harmony and grace as we see around us. From this will grow compassion, humility and generosity. We have certainly generated drastic differences among ourselves throughout our brief but violent history, but these distinctions are all artificial and illusory. We have created these elements of ego to define ourselves, to separate and elevate ourselves, and they have well fulfilled their purpose. But they are also inevitably destructive and divisive, and we must now consciously cast them aside. We must stop playing the game of "I am better than you" because in that game there are no winners, only temporary victors, and the ultimate casualty is the entire human race.   Please share your thoughts on this essay here Continue to next essay Return to mandalaZone archives menu (Material copyright 2004, all rights reserved. No portion of this text may be used or reproduced without the express written consent of the author.)

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