When we gather to express our inalienble right to peaceably assemble, we do so because we want no more than a free and sustainable planet where peace and compassion are truly the highest standards in which to hold all human endeavors. We are here to make a statement to the whole of our society: that these standards are noble and worthy of great devotion. A growing number of humans on this planet desires to live in a highly evolved, conscious, and peaceful world. By being here today, we cast off the doubt that such a world is possible. These doubts have remained in all cultures for millennia–yet today, we stand in open defiance of them. This is a remarkable thing. Do not let anyone persuade you otherwise. The idea that we embrace the philosophies and actions of peace is nothing short of the greatest hopes and dreams of all our ancestors.
So I ask that in your actions, choose to embrace each moment as an opportunity to become a fully conscious member of the world of peace we are creating. I ask that you remember: Peace happens when you think beyond yourself and your ego and extend your heart to those around you–your sisters and brothers in the Peace Movement as well as those in opposition. Only through putting ourselves in the position of another do we learn the greatest truths: That NO ONE deserves our hatred or violence.
All hostility, all sense of otherness, and all belief that we are separate entities at all is a direct result of ignoring the innate, adaptive, and very natural human tendency towards love & compassion. Adapting these tendencies in our daily lives teaches us not to be afraid of ourselves and others, because we can control the outcome of any situation by putting ouselves in the place of another with a mindset of peace.
All we are are saying is what’s been said for thousands of years by people our history books and religions generally regarded as blindly optimistic, insane, or Divine: Love those who you see as different from yourself.
Our numbers are now at critical mass, and this message is accepted by too man to be dismissed. By challenging and focusing all our actions, and especially, reactions, to reflect such blindly optimistic, insane, and Divine advice as, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” we liberate not only our minds, but give permission by example for others to liberate their minds in our presence.
Freedom is a tender fruit whose seeds are spread and sweetness multiplied when we invite another to bite from our side of the apple. This is the standard to which we should hold all our actions.
Peace.
