The Price of Peace

"Live a life without closure, and your compassion will broaden you, stretch you, widen the walls of your flesh until you're able to receive the unthinkable joy and the unthinkable pain." You can find the synopsis of this episode, further notes, and a convenient place to ⁠⁠⁠comment ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.  The key points in this "speaking": Great joy and great pain alike are dangerous to the ego. There's a gap between the "I am" and the "I think I am." Forgetting this gap is the origin of suffering. We tell easy stories to contain grief, pain, or evil. But any movement that universalizes a group of people is refusing to accept reality, and all universalization is dehumanization. If you truly want peace, inward and outward, resist the impulse to see categories rather than individual human beings (and events, and sensations). Pay attention to the particular. If we don't allow the oppressor to change, then we don't truly want peace. We must be open to forgiveness if we desire reconciliation. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future topics, you can email me at [email protected]. You can also check out my website at ⁠⁠⁠www.sondrawriter.com⁠⁠⁠, where you'll find my essays and links to ⁠⁠⁠my memoir⁠⁠⁠. Music is L'épisode cévenol by Circus Marcus, from the Free Music Archive. License type: CC BY-NC.