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We seem to have entered a dark new phase in our current age of crisis and uncertainty.  The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the horrors it has unleashed seem incomprehensible.  Does history just keep repeating itself, is a third world war inevitable,  and have we as human beings learned nothing from the past?   Or is it possible that we can change?

 

Although we may be far from the immediate scenes of conflict, wherever we are we are affected to some degree, and will continue to be affected by what is unfolding on many levels.  Fear and anxiety are easily stoked, and it’s not easy to stay calm and centred amidst the turmoil and suffering we are witnessing.

 

As I wrote in my book Wake Up and Hear the Thunder:  Finding hope in a hopeless world  (published in 2012), the crises we face and the breakdown of our current civilisation are part of something fundamental that has been playing out for a very long time, and will continue for decades to come.  The reality is that this is all part and parcel of an unfolding scenario of world change.  We are experiencing a profound transformational and evolutionary shift.

 

Like a star that is being born amidst the collapsing gaseous nebula, a new world is emerging that will be very different from the one that is dying.  We will begin to see more clearly as the veils of illusion are pulled from our eyes with unfolding events, and as we seek to find answers as to why this is all happening.   As we become more aware, it is possible that  rather than greed, competition and control being the order of the day,  freedom and justice will prevail, and compassion and co-operation will rule instead.  Events are actually forcing us to change as human beings if we are not to destroy each other and the planet.

 

We can in fact change if we so desire - we don’t have to remain trapped in old ways of thinking and behaving.   The way of the heart and love of our fellow-human beings is the only way the peace we long for can come about.  Each one of us can  try to put aside our preconceptions and beliefs and, instead of blaming others, examine our own hearts.

 

It seems that there is an explosion of people power around the world right now, and perhaps a  spiritual awakening  really is unfolding.  Let’s allow healing and loving energy to flourish so that service to others becomes paramount instead of narrow self-interest.

 

So many are feeling a sense of despair and helplessness in the face of the events that are happening.  We must not lose hope, and we must pray for miracles.  We have to trust that good can come out of this terrible suffering and that a revolution of love will happen.  Therefore let us all be prepared to participate, do all we can to help, and play our part in creating peace.  It can be done if we want it enough and are prepared to change.  

 

I came across this wonderful poem by Ann Neems, which it seems appropriate to share here.

 

“I No Longer Pray For Peace”

By Ann Weems

 

On the edge of war, one foot already in,

I no longer pray for peace:

I pray for miracles.

I pray that stone hearts will turn

to tenderheartedness,

and evil intentions will turn

to mercifulness,

and all the soldiers already deployed

will be snatched out of harm's way,

and the whole world will be

astounded onto its knees.

I pray that all the "God talk"

will take bones,

and stand up and shed

its cloak of faithlessness,

and walk again in its powerful truth.

I pray that the whole world might

sit down together and share

its bread and its wine.

Some say there is no hope,

but then I've always applauded the holy fools

who never seem to give up on

the scandalousness of our faith:

that we are loved by God......

that we can truly love one another.

I no longer pray for peace:

I pray for miracles.

 

The painting is by Wassily Kandinsky - The Great Gate of Kiev, 1928