I am convinced that there is nothing more important for our outward work for peace than the interior state of our hearts.
This is true on any scale–from international diplomacy all the way down to the conflict zones in our own homes. You can’t create peace when your heart is a turbulent storm of bitterness and resentment. You can’t carry peace when you are carrying a wounded ego.
Why? Because it is out of the overflow of a person’s heart that their mouth speaks and their hands act. Outward actions are manifestations of inner realities.
The problem is that there is nothing more concealed and opaque to our consciousness than the inner workings of our hearts.
We all walk around with very little knowledge of what is actually going on “under the hood.” Often our conscious altruistic aspirations are shipwrecked by the deeper motivations of our shadow self. It turns out that an unexamined heart is the perfect place to cultivate fear, pain and hatred.
When we blame, criticize and condemn others, it is often an attempt to justify the pain that resides deep within our own souls.
Jesus said, “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness” (Luke 11:35).
Make sure the virtue you are espousing is not actually vice, that your justice is not simply a mirror of injustice, that your liberty is not merely another form of oppression. Make sure the life you think you are bringing is not actually death.
It’s easy to speak about peace. It’s much harder to work toward peace. But the real battle is to become peace.
Rare is the person who lives such an integrated life that the overflow of their heart creates an environment where justice is present, mercy flows and peace can flourish.
