Weekly Blog Post #4

Saturday, September 7th, 2013.

Peace In

We had been discussing how our knowledge affects our view of the world, and I would like to share a story with you on one particular case that I find very admirable.

Last year, when I had gone to the Global Initiatives Conference 2012 in Sao Paolo, Brasil, I have met a woman named Linda Ragsdale. A couple of years ago, she had been the victim of a terrorist attack, when she had gone to a trip in India to take meditation classes. One night, as she was having dinner with people she had befriended, two college boys came to the hotel and began shooting at the people there. Mrs Ragsdale could not do much. She was powerless. She was shot in the leg. She witnessed the shooting. She watched her friends die. She heard their last breaths. After all she went through, she was one of the lucky survivors. 

Mrs Ragsdale could have become the most angry and cynical person. However, despite her terrifying experience, Mrs Ragsdale has become the most loving and accepting individual I have yet met. She says that as she looked into one of the young man's eyes she had seen his despair and had forgiven him. She said that she understood that they saw the world in completely opposite perspectives, she under a loving and affectionate light, he under a gloomy hopeless future. She said that she had to reach out to him and grant him her forgiveness in the hope that it will save him, brighten his world a little. I remember her words at GIN. She had said something along the lines of "Now, put on your peace glasses, and look at the world under a different perspective, a perspective devoid of strong feelings that break the balance and your inner peace".

It is difficult to adopt such an optimistic, accepting, forgiving demeanor. It is difficult to place ourselves in under people's positions, especially when we are standing in opposite perspectives, when we are in the middle of a conflict. Nonetheless, this is what we have to aim for to find peace. Despite the diversity of the world, the variety of opinions, there is a universal mentality in the world. Ultimately, all individuals aspire for peace. Peace is internal, the absence of tension. In order to attain this state, we must recognize our similarities and embrace our diversity. We must understand that, regardless of differences, we strive for the same goals of peace. Even though we might be living with conflicting perspectives, we have to attempt to cross the boundaries that separate us. I know this sounds like a very simplistic view of the world. But this is a very simplified version of my ideas, but it would take forever to write everything down to make myself clearer and more comprehensive. At the end, I believe that peace is felt in the mind. And I admire Mrs Ragsdale for being able to overcome all the obstacles, and being able to look aside all the negatives to take out the positives. I admire Mrs Ragsdale for being able to adopt the different perspective that helped her in establishing peace in herself, and striving to spread her message to the world.