State of Peace Address

It’s not easy to know how to be in this moment.

I’ve been heartbroken about yet another war starting, and I’ve struggled to find the words for Wednesday Wisdoms.

I know and you know that we can’t create world peace just through this newsletter. But when I send these emails and you read them, it’s a reminder that we’re part of a growing, global-minded community that wants peace.

So today, I want to give a “State of Peace Address” that goes into the challenges we face in more depth than my usual Wednesday Wisdoms, and offer a tool for peace that you can use in daily life.

Future Wednesday Wisdoms will be much, much shorter, so please give yourself some time to soak this in.

Happy anniversary?

Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of Wednesday Wisdom. It was a sad day for me.

I’m proud of myself for writing down and sharing my insights on peace for most of the past 104 weeks, especially because my neurodivergent mind struggles to uphold routines. But by sticking with WW, I’ve learned more about peace, myself, and you - the cherished readers of this newsletter.

I’m honored to have a spot in your inbox.

And yet.

By most measures I can think of, the world is a less peaceful place than it was when I started Wednesday Wisdom.

My heart is aching - there are too many people and places in the world suffering from conflict - both violent conflict and psychological conflict.

How can we as individuals and a global community possibly come to peace? What can this little newsletter really do?

Let’s address the first question.

State of Peace

There’s been a trend the last 500 years.

Those in power have increasingly pushed people, animals, and the planet itself to become more like a perpetual-motion machine, less biological. Mind over matter!

Many people around the world have been forced or encouraged to overwork, regardless of how much that harms their bodies, minds, or the planet.

And working non-stop isn’t even enough because the expectation in recent decades is that we must also produce more each year while somehow simultaneously regenerating the energy and resources required to run this non-stop profit machine. The math just doesn’t add up.

Today, our basic biology and desire to live a life of dignity is still too much for the monopoly men (and a few women) to take into consideration - why not just replace human employees altogether with AI?

(Is that why Silicon Valley is in such a rush to convince the world we need to ingrate AI into as much of our life as quickly as possible? Hmmm...)

Slavery, child labor, animal cruelty, minimal rights for women, and profit-hungry exploiters existed in the Roman Empire, absolutely, and in other empires, kingdoms, and city-states around the world before 1492.

But the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the pillage of wealth from India, the genocide of native peoples all around the world, the industrial revolution, the world wars, and now the precariat -

Those are just a few examples of the intensification of wealth sickness, or wealth supremacy - an overfocus on monetary gain and resource hoarding that leads to dehumanizing people and even destroying the planet for the short-term benefit of a few.

It is a formidable situation we find ourselves in. I don’t want to minimize that truth.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed or scared, you’re in great company.

And speaking of company, the biggest challenge of this era, as I see it, is this:

Ladder vs Circle

If we picture life as a ladder we have to climb, then there will always be someone ahead of us and someone below us.

We might start to feel competitive, or nervous about our place on the ladder. No one wants to fall. And there’s just not enough lateral space on a ladder to go up together, side by side. So better to push others down than fall myself, right?

That’s me thinking or ladder thinking.

But hoarding resources and pushing other people down the ladder does not lead that individual to peace. Period.

Hoarding power and resources creates more instability in the individual and the larger global community. Period.

I don’t think I’ve ever quoted the Bible or Jesus in these emails, because I’m not that kind of nun, but Jesus spoke a sobering truth when he said:

Let’s clarify that I’m translating “man” to mean any person, regardless of gender, and “kingdom of God” as inner peace.

As far as I’m concerned, the only heaven and hell that exist are the ones we create for each other here on Earth - and in our own minds.

I often get stressed when I struggle to put thread through the tiny eye of a needle, so for all my imagination, I truly can’t picture how a camel of any size could squeeze through.

So lately, I’ve really come to understand that quote on a new level.

Even if someone could take or own all the resources in the whole world, and be the one and only person at the top of that ladder, that would not be enough to create inner peace for that person.

In fact, this person would feel more insecure and unsafe than ever because . . . deep down . . . they know.

Reality Check

The world is not shaped like a ladder.

It is a circle - literally and metaphorically.

And guess what?

We know we all belong because we’re already here. There is no one part or slice of a circle that’s more important than other parts. It takes all the parts together to create a circle.

Anyone who wants to be or claims to be at the top is stuck in me thinking or ladder thinking.

They may end up with all kinds of power and resources. They may create vast devastation we’ll unfairly have to deal with and probably suffer from.

But again, deep down, they know they can’t stay at the top forever.

If a circle moves at all, which it will because life is in constant motion and change, the “top” will “fall” to the bottom eventually - which isn’t problem at all if you know you're part of the circle.

Meaning other people and the greater community of life will be there to soften hardships and work through problems together.

But if you fall from the top of a ladder - ouch. Gravity can hurt like hell.

Which is why, at the same time some individuals are feverishly grasping to control and take more and more, the antidote to this problem of ladder thinking has also been growing the past 500 years.

Coming Together

Slowly, subtly and loudly, more and more people have been shifting to we thinking or circle thinking.

The end of institutional slavery; worker rights; women voting; queer, trans, and disability rights; banning child labor; speaking up for animal rights - all of those represent circle thinking.

Thank you to everyone past and present who has spoken and stood up for the rights of the many!

You’ve made the circle bigger.

There were no anti-slavery or women’s or animal rights movements led by citizens of the Roman Empire, or in other past empires I've studied, though there have always been periodic revolts lead by the downtrodden who were sick of being pushed down the ladder and demanded to be treated as part of the circle.

Of course, we thinking has been central to indigenous communities and worldviews since time immemorial.

That’s why for the bulk of human history, we lived on this planet without bringing it to the brink of destruction.

And spiritual leaders around the world like Buddha, Socrates, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Hypatia, Muhammad, Santa Teresa de Ávila, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Peace Pilgrim have encouraged us to widen our circle of concern. So this isn’t a new wave of thought.

But now many in “civilized society” are finally circling back to what was already known and practiced for millennia.

Sadly, we can’t make anyone switch from ladder to circle thinking.

And there’s so much more we have to do to create an equitable world that respects and protects the sovereignty, beauty, and fundamental right to exist of every human, animal, plant, and natural entity like rivers and mountains.

Plus, many if not most, human rights gained in recent centuries are at risk right now.

So how can we take any meaningful steps toward peace?

Peace Starts with Me

Even though the challenge of humanity is to move away from me thinking, we do need enough self-awareness to even notice how we’re thinking.

So as individuals, we can look at our own way of thinking and behaving and notice if we slip into that ladder thinking.

It’s easy to slip into because it’s considered normal, ok, and even preferable by dominant society.

It takes some effort and no little courage to pause in a world that’s constantly saying MORE! and FASTER! and NOW OR NEVER!!!

But the world won’t spontaneously become peaceful if all the individuals in it are always rushing around without ever pausing to ask, “Am I thinking only for myself (and family) or . . .

Am I taking the larger community of life into consideration?"

This is the simple tool I want to offer - and one I use in my own life.

It won’t solve all your problems, and it might not even give you a clear next step every time you do it.

But if you practice pausing and checking in with what kind of thinking you’re engaging in, you can slowly invite in the answers you’re seeking and the global community is needing.

For example, if I’m pushing myself to finish a project on the computer despite my body giving signals that it’s tired, thirsty, or needs to move - that’s ladder thinking. I’m prioritizing my mind/productivity over my body.

Ideally, my mind, emotions, and body would be respected as equal parts of my being, and decisions would come from consensus of all those parts, rather than the mind always choosing with top-down, ladder thinking.

Or if I buy too much produce “just in case I want it later” but end up throwing a lot of it out, oops. That was too much me thinking.

When we see ourselves as members of a community, as integral parts of the circle, we know solutions to global problems will come from group collaboration, not brilliant saviors.

We can’t know right now what new possibilities will appear if/when the majority of individuals embrace cooperation, collaboration, and connection over fear and hierarchy.

This following reflection question opens my heart and mind to these potential solutions, so for the next few weeks if you ever get turned around or feel down, ask yourself this:

You might notice one or even both kinds of thinking happening. Or you might not be sure. That’s ok.

No shame, no praise - awareness.

That’s how thinking starts to shift more consistently into the we.

You can't force yourself into circle thinking. Using force to make yourself do something is just another example of ladder thinking.

The goal is to notice if you’re contracting into a competitive ladder worldview, and then create a little space for the idea of we.

Even if you don’t have a clear answer after you ask that question, the process of pausing to ask yourself how you are thinking will create a positive momentum toward circle thinking.

In your life and the world at large.

Peace in your Inbox

On a much more mundane level, I’ve been struggling with the guidelines I created for Wednesday Wisdom - publishing roughly around 2:15 pm MST every Wednesday and in a certain format.

Even though I feel it’s more important than ever to create space for peace - in inboxes and IRL - I need a self-care break.

Part of me feels like I’m failing you, and the world, but I also want to show an example of the antidote. It’s just not possible for me to produce like a machine right now (or ever) so I’m leaning into my human need to care for some other parts of my life in upcoming weeks.

But, I want to continue to provide a weekly reminder and encouragement for peace, so I’ve created a compromise.

You’ll still see Wednesday Wisdoms, but they will be very short, ideally 5-10 sentences rather than an attempt at a comprehensive solution for world peace.

Next week will simply feature soothing music I turn to when I feel turmoil.

So thanks for sticking with me in this “State of Peace Address” and all the previous Wednesday Wisdoms you read!

Any time you open one of these emails, you’re opening yourself up to the kind of circle thinking the world needs right now.

Thank you.

Please take good care of yourself in upcoming weeks, and know that I’m here if you ever have questions about peace or meditation.

In peace from your favorite freelance nun,

Juniper

Donate to Pause for Peace

All words and photos by Juniper McKelvie, except the Jesus quote which can be found in Luke 18:25 and Mark 10:25.

This email was sent from Missoula, Montana so . . .

Thank you to the First Nations of what is now called Western Montana: the Bitterroot Séliš (Salish), the Ql̓ispé (Kalispel), and the Ksanka (Kootenai) - you can read more about all 3 nations on their website.

I also want to give thanks to the Amskapi Piikani (Blackfeet) and the Apsáalooke (Crow) First Nations because I’ve been to and enjoyed their traditional homelands in recent years. Many thanks for your hospitality.