Editor,
My heart goes out to Steven Chavez, a UNM alumnus, who in his Oct. 18 letter to the Daily Lobo, asks, "... which peace group do I join?"
Having had my share of joining and leaving such groups from the '60s on, I empathize with his frustration as he continually encounters hypocrisy, paradox and irony in his journey through the "peace movement." While the easy answer to his question might be "Hey, Steven, why not start your own peace group?" I'd prefer to suggest an alternative.
Even if there's a group somewhere that lives up to his ideals, I want to share a different perspective. The alternative can be found, not in any group, organization or movement, but inside oneself. It is about the possibility of becoming a "Transition Figure," a person who stops negative, harmful or unhealthy behavior in others. I'm not suggesting that Steven or anyone become a modern version of the Lone Ranger. I refrain from advocating that we engage in aggressive superhero stuff, or that we indulge in self-righteously-motivated judgmentalism.
On the contrary, a Transition Figure positively influences others through the expression of simple individual actions and examples -- through modeling transformational positive behaviors -- with constancy, intensity and integrity. In the case of being a Peacemaker, individual acts that bestow empathy, kindness, generosity, listening, honesty or authenticity, for example, are within the potentiality of most human beings. Examples of Transition Figures are numerous, although they are not necessarily the folks who make headlines.
Sometimes we need a little inspiration to get us going. For starters, check out the life of John Woolman, a Quaker who, 100 years before the Civil War, single-handedly influenced the Society of Friends to abolish slavery. Or buy a copy of the book or film "The Man Who Planted Trees," by Jean Goon and discover how one person can bring enormous beauty and joy into the world. Pick just ONE action related to creating peace from any spiritual tradition and commit to DO IT! You'll find all you need in the Sermon in the Mount, The Koran, The Kabbala, the indigenous teachings of the DinÇ, the Hopi or the Toltecs, the Tao Te Ching or the Upanishads, among others.
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At best, ponder on, and consider putting into practice, the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, who, while the inspiration for what later became the Franciscan (monastic) Order, essentially did his "own thing."
Wishing Steven and other fellow Peacemakers well on the journey..
Don Shapiro
Training Consultant
UNM Employee & Organizational Development
