Rest in peace; the most common phrase on gravestones. Let’s extrapolate that for a moment. The phrase suggests that there is no rest or peace in our current world. What does this world have to offer besides the lack of rest or peace? Are we born into a stage of war and unrest? Is there hope of rest or peace in the most civilized era in human history. One would expect that the advancement of our society and civilization should assure peace and rest but otherwise is the case. First-world countries record higher suicide rate than any other lower-division countries. Creating such juxtaposition suggests that no matter the advancement of culture or people, this world, in all its goodness, can’t guarantee peace, and even if it does, we can’t rest in such peace.
What is peace; is peace the absence of war and trouble or is peace a state of mind regardless of troubles and mayhem. Are the dependencies of peace external or internal.? Do we seek peace in the world or in ourselves, and if we seek peace within ourselves, are we not part of this world? The concept of inner peace suggests one of two things. 1) that all is well within, 2) or the bold acceptance that all may not be well and that is okay.
So which is it? Let’s unpack the former- “all is well within” what does that even mean? You have all you want/need; you are perfect in your ideological concept of perfection. So you need no improvement or correction. I have never met a man needing no improvement or correction. In reality, all is not well.
” The bold acceptance that all may not be well and that is okay” suggests that there is a problem, a defect, room for improvement, and an area needing correction, and that is okay… in short, that is perfect imperfection. There is no problem with being ill as long as there is a willing doctor. Peace comes from the honest evaluation that trouble may abound, and the solutions abound too.
In death, there is no error, no room to improve, no wrong, no defect, and no need for correction. But why should one desire such peace in death where there is no love, no friends, and no fun. Life may not be a search for peace but rather an opportunity to love and be loved, to be understood and to understand. Maybe love is the doctor when inner peace is troubled by an external event or internal conflict. You are not where you want to be but you have friends and family who love you regardless of where you are. love is possibly the greatest path to peace in spite of war; a peace that knows war but has no fear of it, the peace that fills the empty heart and calms the troubled soul.
Love, this is my 14th reason why I must stay alive. I may not love my current state, my stagnant state, a state of no progress, an empty form, but when I see the plethora of love at my disposal, I am assured that even though the war of life may rage, I am not alone. I have friends waring with and for me. When I am weak without strength, I stand, filled with love knowing that I am loved by family and friends, and what utter show of ingratitude it will be to give up on life, what show of wickedness it will be to leave this world by my own hands. This is why I stand. I don’t stand strong, I stand loved. Even when God seems distant and heaven seems to care less, I am loved by those around me. More importantly, I love them, too; they need my love just as I need theirs. It is not a game for peace but a state of love.
In death, I will rest in peace. In life, I rest in love. I choose the latter.