The Anatomy of Peace: Part IV

The short last chapter of the book discusses spreading peace; how to take what we've learned within The Anatomy of Peace and bring it into the lives of those around us. The concepts around spreading the peace include staying out of the box myself, building the relationship, listening & learning and teaching.  Along with the Peacemaking Pyramid, there are several lessons that are included.

The first lesson of the pyramid is that the most time and effort should be spent at the lower levels of the pyramid.  This makes a lot of sense to me.  Before you can invite change in others, you have to be committed to change inside yourself.  The book cites an example that when we choose to engage in a correction of some kind that the lower levels are even more important. This is true in my life, if my heart is at war, there is no change in behavior regardless of the consequence.

The second lesson of the pyramid is that the solution to a problem at one level of the pyramid is always below that level of the pyramid.  This brings me back to the Albert Einstein quote.  “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”  The third and final lesson is that in the end my effectiveness at each level of the pyramid depends on the deepest level of the pyramid – my way of being.  This just wraps around the concept for me.     

Ultimately, this isn't about anyone else. This is about me, how I choose to BE, and where my heart is.  Its not about my husband, my kids, family or daycare children.  Its about my heart.  From here its all about choosing to honor or betray and choosing a heart at peace or a heart at war.  There is more work to be done here, this I know but I think I can move forward with my husband, not against him. I choose to have my heart at peace, through the love I feel for my family and through the culmination of this disagreement.