— DR. McCOY. THE BALANCE OF TERROR. 1709.1

Though McCoy was referring to the clash between nations, war is ultimately a product of our inner conflict. If we would practice peace in our personal lives, war not only wouldn’t be “imperative,” it would be inconceivable.

Unfortunately, there are enough people who don’t practice peace to ruin prospects for everyone else. And even if we’ve learned not to respond to these aggressive types out of anger or revenge, shouldn’t we at least give them a taste of their own medicine? In fact, don’t we have a responsibility to forcefully teach them a lesson?

No, because overcoming force with greater force only teaches an aggressor that he wasn’t powerful enough. Meeting angry words with more angry words only justifies feelings of animosity. The cycle escalates.

We can break that cycle only by doing the one thing the aggressor doesn’t expect—because it’s the last thing he would do in the same situation: Reach out in love.

One of Terra’s Sacred Ones advised us to “turn the other cheek” after being assaulted. Which doesn’t mean simply allowing yourself to be whipped into submission. It means standing your ground, staring into the soul of the other person, believing so strongly in the divinity of that soul that the aggressor can’t help but see it himself.

That’s the way to teach him a lesson.

I stand for peace in all I do. I believe in the goodness hidden in others, and I believe in my own.

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The above meditation is taken from Going Boldly on Your Inner Voyage © 1999-2004, IF Books.

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