This week has been challenging for many of us. The war in Ukraine is unsettling. Many of us know people from Ukraine. Many of us also have friends in Russia who are also suffering despite their complete opposition to the war. I received a message from one of my close friends in Russia. She has no money and no way to get any. I can't imagine how she will eat over these coming weeks. The suffering is on all sides.
We live in a time of them and us, where we have become masters of seeing who our tribe is and who our tribe is not. However, when I bring people together and work with them in groups, all I see is that we are all the same. We have the same hopes and the same fears. We want a safe place to live and enough food. We want friends. We want to feel love, acceptance and belonging. We may have different methods for achieving these goals. However, we must understand that these goals are at the heart of almost everyone's life. We want to be happy. We want to suffer less.
It doesn't matter what country we are from. It doesn't matter which political party we voted for. It doesn't matter who we love, what colour our skin is, how we identify.
There is no us and them. We are all the same.
The faster we realise this, the better.
Why?
Because every time you decide that someone else is the other, you are waging war against them. Don't point your finger at powerful men waging war against other countries. First, look inside your heart and see the war there.
If you want peace, it has to start with you.
