By Richa Sharma,
Peace is perspective. Peace has different meanings for each of us, but at the same time, peace is relative. To me, finding peace is an inside job.
We, all living beings, have this big bowl of energy—our life force. We borrow a little bit of the ever-recycling energy of the universe for our time on this planet and then we again surrender it to Mother Earth when we leave. While here, we share our energies with everything around us: air, water, and soil, plants, animals, and people.
So, when the energy inside us is at peace, we call this “inner peace.” I choose to call it my higher consciousness. My vision of a peaceful future is for everyone to be at peace, both within, and to align our energies together with all. It involves understanding the importance of our relationship with universal matter and to realize the gravity of the universal mind. Only when we are aware of our own reality as a human being, can peace then prevail on earth. Only then we would come to love our planet and everything on it, help it, nurture it, and live in mutual harmony with others.
There are lots of challenges which do not let us do that and a major one starts from the time we are born. We start to build our personality, consciously or unconsciously, starting in childhood. So, anything and everything that happens around us and the way we are treated changes the chemistry of our brain development and overall functioning as we age. If that treatment has taught us fear and resentment then it won't let us connect with our inner self. But we can resolve our past adversity. We need to look within ourselves, observe our behavior and our reactions to things. Only by becoming an observer of our own inner landscape, can we begin to untangle the many knots within our own hearts, piece by piece.
Another challenge to finding peace is our division of society in terms of religion and culture. The thing which should unite us—our faiths—sometimes creates conflict. Religions have existed on this planet for ages. Anything that primal could not have been made with bad intentions. Our faiths are sacred, holy and to be celebrated. One major change which may help us is to teach kids the importance of different cultures, and the commonalities of the distilled wisdom held in holy books of all the religions of the world in their school curriculum. The family will come into guiding their children using these principles, and the children, naturally, in their innocence, will follow this celebration of all that is.
When we see the unity in diversity, then I believe there will be a sense of calm in ourselves, then we can all move together towards peace.
Richa Sharma is from Think Round, Inc., San Francisco. She provides Outreach Technology, Marketing, and Organizational skills to Think Round Fine Arts Gallery. Now, she is also contributing in the digital space to showcase the artworks online and in Virtual Art Exhibitions. Richa is actively involved in different URI, North America, and Global Youth CC initiatives. She was one of the Youth Speakers to visit United Nations early this year to be part of the World Interfaith Harmony Week celebration. She also enjoys public speaking, connecting with people, and writing her journal.
Richa was a featured speaker this year at One Planet Peace Forum. Richa has a YouTube channel, “Event-ful.” Photograph of Golden Gate Bridge by Richa Sharma
