A while ago, I was walking through an arid wasteland... Okay, it was lower 5th Avenue in Manhattan. ...and I passed by an apartment building that had a narrow garden in front of it. In the garden was a stone with a phrase printed on it in white paint. It read, "Beyond peace is bliss."
The phrase really struck me as, up to that point, I had always thought of peace as being the ultimate state. After all, doesn't every aspiring beauty queen say our grandest quest is for world peace?
Needless to say, as was the case with last month's post on Faith &Trust, I began to ponder Peace & Bliss and here's what I came up with...
Peace is a state of being wherein each of us allows the others to live their lives as they see fit without interference as long as the others do likewise. It creates a utopian status quo of mutual respect. Sound good? Yes. Sound possible? Not so much. At least, not given the history of humankind, to date.
Bliss, on the other hand, does not depend on the actions of others. It allows one to step inside of oneself and be content no matter what may be happening in the world. It is a state of understanding and accepting that the Plan of Creation is not complete until everyone fulfills his or her contract and, more importantly, that all bad things must pass. So, peace is not a prerequisite to the state of bliss. It's possible to have it, now!
I thought of the training I had with a Tao Master and how he seems to accept the actions of everyone, expecting that things will not always go the way he might like, but not letting it impinge on his inner state...his bliss.
Could I do the same? I could try.
But, the more I thought about it, I felt that bliss wouldn't be enough. There might yet be an even higher state, especially for someone, who is as action-oriented as I am. And, it dawned on me that I want to be concerned with more than just myself. I would like a state where we all help each other to become the best we can be. In other words...
Beyond bliss is service...service to others.
What are your thoughts?
