We all want to live in harmony, but many people confuse the absence of change with peace. In order to experience authentic peace – both within oneself and with other people and nations – one must be willing to experience the bouts of tension and discomfort that accompany transformation. Constant harmony does not exist and the idea that it should is a myth.
Take weather for example. Most of us consider clear blue skies to be ideal, but storm clouds eventually roll in, bringing needed moisture and clearing the air. Harmony in any given climate does not come from the absence of stormy weather, but arises out of the dance between clear skies and dark clouds. The same is true within individuals – harmony is not the absence of heavy emotions and periodic discomfort, but the outcome of embracing all our emotions, knowing that they come and go like the weather.
– Excerpted from upcoming Portals of Peace