The Possibility of Peace

I would like to introduce the possibility of peace. How does one go about that when peace should be in the heart of every human being?  Peace should need no introduction. It should already be understood that each one of us needs peace. It is not just something that would be nice to have. We need peace. Let me define what that need is.

Our need for peace is like water is to the desert, like wind is to the sailboat, like flowing is to the river. If the river doesn’t flow, it becomes clogged and dirty. It needs to flow to keep itself clean. Our need for peace is like the sun is to the moon. Without the sun, the moon would never shine. When you look at the beauty of the moon, remember that it is coming from the sun. That is how much we need peace in our lives.

What happens is that we become so familiar with the complexities of this life—all the good and the bad that happens every day. Our focus turns to trying to decipher what is good, what is bad, what is right, what is wrong in our life. We have become problem-solvers. Nobody points out to us that we are the ones who create the problems, and then we want an award for solving them. Every time you see an award for solving problems, there should be another one for creating the problems in the first place. Life becomes more and more intricate, more and more complex, more and more difficult.

What is it that we want? What is it that we are all looking for—not as a universal thing, but each one of us as an individual? What does this heart of ours want? It wants joy, but not the kind of joy that is temporary in nature. It wants peace, but not the kind of peace that is temporary in nature.

A lot of people think the absence of war is peace. What I have come to understand is that, considering how long people have been fighting, the absence of war may never happen. That should not preclude the possibility of peace. Why do I say that? War has nothing to do with peace, and peace has nothing to do with war. There is a peace that transcends war. There is a peace that exists in itself. It does not need the absence of one thing to become the presence of another. That is the peace we are all looking for. That is the peace we want—the peace this heart wants. 

Peace is by nature the most accessible to us and the most missed by us—two extremes. It is so readily available,and yet it is so far away from us. It is so right there, and it is so unknown. It is so present, and yet so absent. All we have to do is begin with a simple introduction to ourselves. So let me introduce you to you! You have been introduced to a lot of people, except for one. You have never been introduced to you.

You are beautiful. Why are you beautiful? You are beautiful because you are alive, not because of what you have accomplished. That’s not what makes you beautiful. You are beautiful because this breath—the most divine gift of all—comes into you. This breath comes in unchallenged, without judgment of good or bad, right or wrong. Every day, every moment, it comes into you—as personal as it possibly can be, touching only you. You can be in a room full of a hundred thousand people, and it will come and touch you. It will come and enter you. It will come and bless you.

Many people will tell you what you are not. I am here to tell you everything that you are. People will tell you everything that's wrong with you. I am here to tell you everything that is right with you.

Remember when you were a baby? I don’t know when you realized you existed. It was probably at a very young age. “I am here.” The world revolved around you. You didn’t know that, but it did. It was day, and you opened your eyes and you looked. In great majesty, you accepted this day because it was not for anyone else but you. Ideas of other people weren't there. You had no inhibitions. You had an incredible passion for one thing. It is what helped you grow up. That one passion you had when you were a baby was to find out for yourself. This was your passion. Your mother said, “Don’t put that dirt in your mouth.” For you, it was: “What’s the big deal? I had to find out. Now I know.”  

At some point, you gave up your great passion. Then anybody could come along and tell you, “That’s no good.” And you would say, “Okay, that’s no good.” Why was it no good? You didn't know. He said it was no good, and that was sufficient. This was a right you had. This was a power you had that you abdicated. Today, I would like to remind you of that power. I want you to get it back because the day you get it back, you will stand on your own two feet. That is the day you will start to say, “I need to know. I want to know. I must know for myself.” 

You must know, not just have an idea or a concept. Those who are able to go beyond concepts are the ones who know. They are the ones who walk on their own feet. It's not that they walk on softer carpets or only on roads that go downhill. They walk the same road as anybody else, but they walk on their own feet. They make a simple determination in their lives, not in words, but by feeling. That’s what you need in this life—that feeling, that understanding.

The possibility exists that you can feel fulfilled every single minute. You can be content. You can be in joy. What does it take to make this possibility real? Understanding. When you don’t have the understanding, you carry thousands of little ideas with you. Questions, questions, questions. When you find the understanding, all the questions vaporize. All the ideas are gone. The only thing left is understanding. That’s it.

It is a possibility that is real. This is about peace in your life, in your existence. If nothing else, understand the importance of this: You must have peace in your life. It cannot be any other way. It is not a question of good or bad, right or wrong. You have the necessity and you must fulfill the necessity. The means to fulfill this necessity are also within inside of you.

You owe it to yourself to be fulfilled. If you can do nothing else for yourself, do this.