Since I was a young girl the passion for peace have always been instilled in us from our parents.I was attracted to the hippie movement as I thought they were awesome and far out people who wanted to express themselves in a peaceful way ..Love and Peace those two words had a significant impact on me.Growing up being aboriginal,I myself have never face any racist remarks or any form of prejudice,although I knew some people who were struggling with this situation and were devastated with the racist remarks that others have spoken and took them personally.I felt a complete utter sadness for them and tried my best to express how to deal with the matter,but to no prevail they were sinking deeper into dismay...it hurt me to the core to see these individuals struggle and not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.Telling someone that tomorrow is another day and to ignore those who hurt us with words meant nothing to this individuals cause all they could hear and see was hatred in this world as they began to withdraw from friends and eventually family.The Hippie movement began to pave the road for peace,love and unity and I wanted to be a part of it.As a child my mother had put the fear into us as children about hippies,I thought hippies were some kind of human like animal that lived in trees.Then one day I had met some hippies who were hitch hiking across Canada to spread the word of love and peace.I had told them what I thought hippies were and we had a good laugh.At that point in my life I wanted to be a hippie and spread the word of love and peace after meeting these hitch hikers.I had found them to be the happiest and most peaceful people that I had ever met.Their music began to have a powerful meaning for me.Their lyrics and beautiful musical sounds was poetry in motion.. after all most peace songs started out as poetry... and thats when I realized that Peace was not impossible and that one would have to want it to make it happen.Later on in my early twenties I began to read about Buddhism.Buddhism is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, sometimes simply known as "The Buddha", who lived in or around the fifth century BCE in the northeastern region of ancient India.Buddhists recognize him as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings and their suffering by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth and that Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices and powerful insight.While it is usually considered a religion, some scholars have defined religion in ways that exclude it.The number of Buddhists in the world ranges from 230 to 500 million or more, with most living in Asia.Today Buddhism is a universal understanding of peace,honor,humbleness, acceptance and one feels deeply moved.The Buddhas Greatness, embodiment of Virtues, blossoms of the Human Tree,Buddha is nearer to us.and is.the most Noble of Mankind.Later on in my life I had met a girl who was a mediator.She taught me about meditation, and said Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.I was impressed I had to try this meditation.I began to meditate and today I do this daily.There is no length to how long ones meditates.I was told to "Concentrate on the quality of your meditation sessions and to meditate consistently" to find inner peace.My father being a spiritual man and although we were Roman Catholics he told me they were two different things.I was taught the ways of the natives early in my life.. when I used to work with my Father.(he was a pulp cutter) and I was his ruler girl.He would tell me about the native ways and the importance of excepting yourself and others.My upbringings have always brought me happy and peaceful thoughts when I reminisce about the times that I would spend working with my father as a young girl and each day I would look forward to his stories.My Grandfather also told me some stories about where his people came from and his childhood.I eventually passed on to my children.Today I believe they are at peace with themselves.I am very proud to have been taught spirituality by the best peaceful people that being my Father and Grandfather and my encounters with those hippies that shared their war for peace.I am at peace with myself today after battling two bouts of cancer in my life.Having to be a cancer survivor has made me look at life differently.Today I am grateful for that battle for it has taught me about my life and the life of others and how blessed we are to live on such a beautiful planet.I take one day at a time now rather than look into tomorrow or yesterday.. after all tomorrow is another day of living, loving and more journeys and yesterday was just that.My war for peace is my passion and my desire and one can find me always sharing and recruiting people to join the war for peace.
Peace-out
One of my favorite Buddhist thoughts
"To win Peace"
The question that inevitably suggests itself is, how far can the great message of the Buddha apply to the present-day world? Perhaps it may apply, perhaps it may not, but if we follow the principles enunciated by the Buddha, we will ultimately win peace and tranquility for the world.
- Nehru
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