Thank You Very Sweet

“The complexity of peace is to elevate to a place of order and neutrality” – my friend’s martial arts teacher.

I’ve been pondering what it means to be a peacemaker.  What initially came to mind is a mediator, one mediating conflict between two people.  But that’s not always peaceful; as frequently the person in the middle can get caught up in influencing outcomes. We’re human.

Then I thought about the airport experiment, I have written about this before.  Apparently a group went into an airport practicing mindfulness  – meditation, intentional breathing, stillness, calm.  Their calm in the midst of the airport seemed to affect the people in their immediate vicinity. Others around them started to calm down.  Their peace was attractive.

This teaching about peacemaking may be speaking of a way of being.  Not one orchestrating outcomes in the middle,  but one who cultivates peace by being at peace. Like Jesus.

They shall be called Children of God.

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I’d hoped to find something clever to write about this teaching to make it more digestible than it is. That was my ego and so keeping me from the heart of what’s here. This one is straight forward:

the one with the pure heart shall see God.

In my reading I learned that the Greek word for “heart” in this Scripture (Matthew 5:8) is kardeeah. This can be applied to the physical heart; but it also refers to the spiritual center of life. It is where thoughts, desires, sense of purpose, will, understanding, and character reside.

The person with pure thoughts, desires, sense of purpose, will, understanding, and character, will see God.

This means melting away the excess: the attachments and selfish goals, the self deprecating thoughts habits and ways of being; in order to be available.

This is the hardest work and the most gratifying. For me yoga helps with this, the physical practice is so humbling that I’ve no choice but to be present and available to it most of the time.  And I have to practice often. I have to keep practicing.

What is your practice?

The pilgrimage is inward. You don’t have to go anywhere to see God. You don’t have to travel to a Holy City to commune with The Divine. The Beautiful. This most important journey is an inward one; one of purifying what’s inside of you. One of purifying your heart.

Let us pray for one another as we travel.

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