Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.
Etty Hillesum
Peace is not something we normally think about when we consider the world situation. There is always a war going on somewhere and things are not getting better. We now see evil is most clearly in Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank. In the past there were other places, in the future there will be still more. No one can bear fully knowing even the smallest portion of the evil and those that come closest to it are often scarred for life. After the World Wars soldiers experienced what was then called the thousand-yard stare, now we call it PTSD. The evil in the world is far beyond our ability to understand or know.
Etty Hillesum is one of the most haunting figures of the Second World War era. She was Jewish, educated, had contacts with the outside world and was aware of what was happening when the Nazis began their final solution. She had an opportunity to leave Germany and she didn’t. She decided to board a train with her fellow Jews and subsequently perished. Some of her writings were preserved and reading them is a humbling experience. For we know that placed in a similar position, we would no doubt opt to escape.
Hillesum said much about peace within ourselves. She did not believe that we can change the evil of the age without changing ourselves. “I really see no other solution than to turn inwards and to root out all the rottenness there. I no longer believe that we can change anything in the world until we first change ourselves. And that seems to me the only lesson to be learned.” Changing ourselves may paradoxically seem selfish when we could be acting in some way against evil and injustice. Yet we cannot have peace in the world without peace in ourselves. Of course being at peace within ourselves is a lifetime goal, and some actions need to be taken long before we are close to the goal. But we need to keep in mind the goal of inner peace and intentionally work to achieve it. And that inner peace may itself spread more peace than any outward action we may take. As the 18th century orthodox saint, St Seraphim of Sarov, said, “Attain the spirit of peace, and thousands of people around you will be saved.”
Attaining peace within ourselves is something that is increasingly difficult in our emerging digital world. We intuitively know that the more time we spend on social media and our news feeds, the less peace we find within ourselves. The world of the machine directs our attention to an unlimited array of attractive shiny objects and it is difficult to stay focused. Most of us struggle for even a few minutes of meditation. All we can really do is to keep in mind the importance of inner peace, be aware of those things that take away our sense of peace, and intentionally cultivate those things that promote it.
Etty Hillesum
Peace is not something we normally think about when we consider the world situation. There is always a war going on somewhere and things are not getting better. We now see evil is most clearly in Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank. In the past there were other places, in the future there will be still more. No one can bear fully knowing even the smallest portion of the evil and those that come closest to it are often scarred for life. After the World Wars soldiers experienced what was then called the thousand-yard stare, now we call it PTSD. The evil in the world is far beyond our ability to understand or know.
Etty Hillesum is one of the most haunting figures of the Second World War era. She was Jewish, educated, had contacts with the outside world and was aware of what was happening when the Nazis began their final solution. She had an opportunity to leave Germany and she didn’t. She decided to board a train with her fellow Jews and subsequently perished. Some of her writings were preserved and reading them is a humbling experience. For we know that placed in a similar position, we would no doubt opt to escape.
Hillesum said much about peace within ourselves. She did not believe that we can change the evil of the age without changing ourselves. “I really see no other solution than to turn inwards and to root out all the rottenness there. I no longer believe that we can change anything in the world until we first change ourselves. And that seems to me the only lesson to be learned.” Changing ourselves may paradoxically seem selfish when we could be acting in some way against evil and injustice. Yet we cannot have peace in the world without peace in ourselves. Of course being at peace within ourselves is a lifetime goal, and some actions need to be taken long before we are close to the goal. But we need to keep in mind the goal of inner peace and intentionally work to achieve it. And that inner peace may itself spread more peace than any outward action we may take. As the 18th century orthodox saint, St Seraphim of Sarov, said, “Attain the spirit of peace, and thousands of people around you will be saved.”
Attaining peace within ourselves is something that is increasingly difficult in our emerging digital world. We intuitively know that the more time we spend on social media and our news feeds, the less peace we find within ourselves. The world of the machine directs our attention to an unlimited array of attractive shiny objects and it is difficult to stay focused. Most of us struggle for even a few minutes of meditation. All we can really do is to keep in mind the importance of inner peace, be aware of those things that take away our sense of peace, and intentionally cultivate those things that promote it.
