During the past two months there have
been situations where Canadian soldiers have expressed their thoughts
on life in conflict zones. In all seriousness, these expressions have
been a constant in the lives of those that have gone to war/conflict
zones. For many that do speak up, they talk about the ever present
battle of trying to understand the horror of what they witnessed.
They talk about the hoplessness/helplessness or the uncontrolable
situations they were surrounded by. As they are slowly pulled away
physically from those areas their minds, hearts and character of self
remains behind. A large part of who they are is left behind in the
hell of war. During the past few months there have been breakthroughs
for some where the war has come to a good peaceful end. For others we
can only hope the nightmare ended when they could take no more.
Peace is not easy. The reality of being
left in a hopeless situation is all too often common. The mental war
rages on behind the eyes of courage. That war is often supressed due
to the some desire of not wanting to be a burden. This feeling of not
being a burden becomes its own enemy to everyone. Thus the cycle of
chaos, destruction, segragation and sorrow compounds. Being in such a
situation is more worrisome when you are the person sent in to bring
peace and order coupled in with a list of constraints. These
constraints are so limiting that you effectively must sit on the
sidelines as you watch the population being slaughtered. How does
anyone remain peaceful, let alone sane in such a reality?
It is popular to say that everyone
wants peace, is that really true? How far do you go to defend your
values? Such questions are integral to understanding the importance
and responsibility of being at peace. No matter what social structure
you may live in, there are fundamental realities of being at peace.
One such reality is that peace is described as perfect balance. That
means there are equal forces on either side. In terms of sanity, your
day must be 50% sane and 50% insane. true why would anyone test
anothers resolve to the point where killing each other becomes
rational? That has be the central theme of thought for the past month
or so when looking at the world.
What is disheartening is that others do
feel it is okay to test anothers resolve on such a level. This is the
slippery slope which everyone should take great care while traversing
it. Unfortunately there seems to be a plethora of risks being taken
with little care of everyones lives. Such actions are pushing the
entire world to the boiling point. It seems as though we are spinning
out of control.
This spinning is why the question of
defending your values becomes so prominent. Being at peace carries
the responsibility of standing up when Do you take such a stance as
firm as – to the death?
