Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9
If offspring are the same species as their parents, then peacemakers are fledgling gods. Since making peace is almost impossible, this makes sense.
Efforts to make peace often produce the opposite result. Someone who sets out to be a peacemaker brews trouble because of the shadow. To identify with anything evokes its opposite. If I say, “I’m a peacemaker,” then I’ve just disowned my primitive shadow. When the shadow is disowned, it functions unchecked in the unconscious mind. It becomes a stealth operative in a situation. The term “passive-aggressive” describes such a pattern with a modern term.
A complex aspect of this problem is that people who value peace don’t want to see themselves as combative. Yet how many peace-oriented groups are peaceful?
One way to actually make peace is to deal with inner conflict. First, assume yourself to have both peaceful and warring motivations. Look searchingly for your love of conflict. Look for hidden motives in providing “help.” Dissect conflicts to identify the feelings within the issue. Own the warrior in yourself. Appreciate the positive side of this archetype.
By doing this first, it’s possible to lay a foundation for identifying negative aggressive impulses in ourselves. This is the key for making peace. Once I’m willing to see a destructive impulse in myself, I have more capacity to make decisions about it. I can contain it, delay it, discuss it, dismiss it, and sometimes even transform it.
This concept finds a home in Taoism. The following are some relevant quotes from the Tao Te Ching (https://www.taoistic.com/taoquotes/taoquotes-19-war-violence.htm):
Those who defeat others are strong, those who defeat themselves are mighty.
When the Way governs the world, the proud stallions drag dung carriages. When the Way is lost to the world, war horses are bred outside the city.
The unyielding army will not win.
Excellent conquerors do not engage.
Warriors say: I dare not be like the host, but would rather be like the guest. I dare not advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot.
Works Cited
May, Herbert G. & Metzger, Bruce M. (editors). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press, 1977.
Taoistic: Taoism Explained. “Tao Quotes on War and Violence.”https://www.taoistic.com/taoquotes/taoquotes-19-war-violence.htm. Accessed December 28, 2020