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By Julian Spalding February 05. 2016 3:52PM Inner Peace: How can politics promote inner peace? Julian Spalding How can politics promote inner peace? I am moved to respond to Jeffrey Gillespie's column, "Alan Kurdi: Person of the Year" (Tidings, Jan. 8). Initially I simply wanted to agree with his assertions that we are often presented in the media with whitewashed versions of events which reflect the character of our nation, including the effect of war on the innocent. Witness the picture of Alan Kurdi, the 2-year-old Syrian boy who washed up dead on the Turkish coast. This is in contradistinction with the "bloodied and mutilated children that come to us whenever we invade" which "demolishes the sanctity of Western hypocrisy, reminding us of our imperialistic narcissism." Gillespie's assertions reflect my own concerns about the endless wars of aggression perpetrated by the United States in response to real or imagined threats. My knee-jerk reaction to America's imperial ambitions is to point my finger in righteous indignation. However, if I engage in a little self-reflection, I might look at how my reactions reinforce my own propensity to self-righteousness. I have to ask myself, "What is it in me that reinforces imperialism?" (The word is defined as extending a country's influence through force.) When I turn my attention within my own being, I often notice the need to extend my personal influence without regard for the feelings of others.  It is so much easier to look outside myself for justification of my mental attitudes. Looking at this propensity, I realize it is when my ego needs to be "right" — it looks for reasons to justify being right. Is it true that a nation of egos needing to be right create a nation that must impose its will on other nations? Am I willing to consider my own complicity in national attitudes that may reflect my own need to impose my will on others? This is a much more difficult task than reinforcing my positions through projection onto the world. This isn't to say that I can't be outraged by events perpetrated in my name, but it is incumbent upon me to continually examine my own motives for my outrage. Am I motivated by my desire to create a better world? Or am I motivated by a desire to create a better me — the "me" that imagines myself to be in control of events over which I have no control? I am reminded that I personally have no control over persons, places or things. In the words of Alcoholics Anonymous, "Even though I do have the power of choice, when my emotions get aroused, I sometimes choose to give my power away when I get resentful at that person, place or thing." My resentment then controls my responses to external events and people. I react unconsciously, rather than making a conscious stand for or against something. This can be tricky, because I want my actions in the world to be effective. But also I want to maintain my own self-reflective awareness about what is actually motivating my activism. Is it coming from a place in me of caring and heartfulness, or is it coming from a place of judgment and righteousness? The latter can snare me by closing my heart. The former allows me to interact with the world from a place of openheartedness. When I am in judgment of others, my own propensity to narcissism is reinforced. When my heart is open, I tend to see the world through a lens of caring and concern, rather than anger and righteousness. I want to focus my energy more on building networks of caring individuals and less on reactive activism. Can I do both? Andrew Harvey writes of "sacred activism," whereby one can engage with the world while one's heart is open, feeling the pain of wars on the innocent, but engaging in a way that is aware of my own actions which may arise from knee-jerk reactions. How can I keep my heart open in the valley of the shadow of death? Isn't that the task all of us ultimately face? This is my challenge. Julian Spalding is a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant with CYCLES OF LIFE, conducting personalized ceremonies to mark life's milestones (www.cyclesoflife.biz). He serves on AARP Oregon’s Diversity Advisory Council, sits on the board of Ashland at Home and is co-founder of Rogue Rainbow Elders. He is an enrolled member of the Osage tribe of Oklahoma. He lives in Talent with his husband, Terry Brown. Julian publishes poetry at julianspalding.wordpress.com.   http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20160205/NEWS/160209892 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->