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Martin Luther King's Dream Can Still Become a Reality
By Dr. Ray Angelini
The Saratogian
January 24, 2006
With the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King recently past, my thoughts have recently been focused on peacemaking. The struggle to find peace is as old and enduring as humanity itself. Dr. King said it well when he remarked, "The non-violent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them a new self-respect: it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally, it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality."
Choosing peace will initially have the most profound impact on yourself. When we consciously choose peace, we are less inclined to accept the "gifts" of ill will that often come our way. There is a story about Buddha in which he encounters a man who is purposely trying to challenge his serenity by being consistently rude and obnoxious to him. After three days of repeatedly trying to get Buddha to react angrily and consistently failing, he asked in exasperation, "How could you be so peaceful and kind when all I've ever said to you was so antagonistic? The Buddha responded, "If someone offers you a gift, and you do not accept the gift, to whom does the gift belong?" The man had his answer.
Dr. King is telling us that by committing ourselves to a peaceful heart we will gain access to previously unknown and untapped strength. When those around us attempt to draw us into conflict, our mantra can and should be, "I can choose peace instead of this."
Our objective in choosing and radiating peace should always be to first and foremost change ourselves. It is only when we have really and truly created a peaceful heart in ourselves that we can truly affect others. It was said that just the mere presence of Buddha or Jesus Christ would create peace by raising the consciousness of those around them.
Dr. Wayne Dyer believes that we can literally change the energy around us by consciously choosing to be peaceful in the face of violence. He recommends the following to help promote peace wherever we find ourselves.
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Vow, as St. Francis has urged, to be an instrument of peace. Remember peace and violence are always a choice. Try to stop and catch yourself before resorting to violence of any kind.
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Each day, actively work to bring greater peace into your life through mediation, yoga and any other spiritual practices that promote the giving and receiving of love.
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Strive to remove violent input from your life. Limit your exposure to the media, which seems to thrive on highlighting man's inhumanity to man. Remember, for every act of inhumanity, there are a thousand acts of kindness.
- Remember the ancient Chinese proverb; The sage does not talk, the talented ones talk, and the stupid ones argue."
