The True PeaceThe first peace, which is the most important,
is that which comes within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship,
their oneness, with the universe and all its powers,
and when they realize that at the center
of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka (the Great Spirit),
and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this.
The second peace is that which is made between two individuals,
and the third is that which is made between two nations.
But above all you should understand that there can never
be peace between nations until there is known that true peace,
which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.
- Black Elk, Oglala Sioux and Spiritual Leader (1863-1950)
"Appeal to the Great Spirit", bronze, Cyrus Edwin Dallin, 1909, at the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo courtesy of AntyDiluvian on flickr.
1 comment:
There's a motif in many stories - that an individual is living an idyllic existence - almost at peace with the world.
Then fate breaks into that cosy world. The story of the Frog King tells of a princess playing happily, and then she accidentally drops her ball down a well....
The unconscious may have its own agenda, and may require us to go on an adventure before we can find ourselves.
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