The men were seated around the campfire at their hunting cabin, griping about the state of the world.
One of them turned to the oldest one among them and said, “So, Henry, if you were suddenly named King of the World, what would your first proclamation be?”
Henry stroked the left side of his mustache for a minute. Then he clenched both fists, raising them above his head and, drawing from the depths of his being, shouted, “STOP IT!”
The men sat stunned for a second, then erupted in a roar of laughter.
“I’ll drink to that!” Tim said, raising his beer in a toast. The other men followed his lead, trumpeting “Stop it!” at the starry night sky.
They grew silent for a while. Finally Dave said, “Just might work. Let’s make bumper stickers.”
The talk turned to funny bumper stickers and went down hill from there.
But Tim remembered Henry’s proclamation and shared it with me later.
“Henry has a way of nailing things.” I said.
Can you imagine a voice booming all over the planet at the very same time with the command ”Stop it!” instantly translated into every listener’s own tongue? Who would dare to do anything other than obey!
And what would happen in that instant of global silence? In that moment when everyone was speechless and terribly aware?
Would people stand motionless, peering at the sky, waiting to see if the king would say more?
Would they burst into laughter? Reach for their loved ones? Their phones? Their guns?
Anything could happen.
Maybe another message would follow: “Now that I have your attention . . .”
Maybe it would point out that we have it in our power to see that our particular species is unique in this magnificent world and special, and that we had it in us to play well with each other regardless of anything that had gone on before.
Maybe it would lay out instructions for world peace. Maybe it would explain where things went wrong and why, and what we needed to do to fix it.
Right now there are those on this world who have some answers, teachers whose instructions echo Henry’s. Stop for awhile. Just stop, they say.
Take time to do nothing but breathe. Sit there until you run out of thoughts or learn to disregard them. Then listen for the promptings of your heart
Let it show you how you can open yourself to greater kindness toward others, greater appreciation for the gift of your own life. Hear it whisper how you can bring more peace and harmony to your personal corner of the world.
That’s where it starts. With each of us finding peace within ourselves and letting it direct us. Because until that booming voice shouts at us from the sky, it’s up to us.
Wishing you peace.
Warmly,
Susan
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay