It is all such a very delicate balance.

But it happens. It can happen. It has happened, this balance. But then, as we say, a force–a storm–may come along to disturb the balance. It can come in the form of one disturbed, cruel, and chaotic mind, which, taking advantage of the latent forces of cruelty and chaos always present, enhances them. Calls them forth. Uses them for his own power and purposes. Such is the case in our time. One person, possessing or possessed by, such a mind, has achieved enough power in our world to make that chaos manifest. His own niece once called him ‘the most dangerous man in the world.’ We have learned that she was not exaggerating.

He has unleashed the broken chaos of his mind onto the people of Minneapolis and Minnesota. Onto immigrants and people of a certain color he does not deem worthy–of respect, or of peace. Onto his political opponents. Onto anyone called ‘democrat.’ Or liberal. Onto anyone who works in the Free Press. Onto women. Onto ‘blue’ states or ‘blue’ cities. Onto people of the ‘wrong’ religion, or none. Onto Mexico. Onto Venezuela. Onto the waters of the Caribbean, what he now calls the Gulf of America. Onto–unbelievably–Canada, and even Greenland. And now, onto Iran. (Where, under the pretense of rescuing those about whom he has endlessly proven he cares nothing–he rains hell). There is no peace in this broken man’s violent mind, and therefore, because he has achieved power through lies, corruption, and intimidation–and because peace is utterly intolerable to him–he has determined there shall be no peace anywhere.

Unfortunately, this anywhere includes our own minds, yours and mine where–perhaps–we have long endeavored to cultivate such elusive but important peace. Where now, it is daily assaulted. So, while ‘the storm’ rages, we must cultivate it still. Even while we engage and fight back, even while we defend and resist, even as we mourn the loss of peace and equanimity, we must cultivate it. Most importantly, perhaps, in our own minds. For we have seen the principle illustrated perfectly–in reverse–how the condition of a single mind can influence the world. We do not have the power, you nor I, to change the entire world, as the powerfully corrupt do. But we do have power. Over ourselves. We have still the ability to see and hear and notice and experience awe, and wonder, and the peace ‘that surpasseth all understanding.’ And we have real influence over ‘the world’, as well. Just like the tiny, brilliant butterfly, helping to make the wind with its wings.

So, that tree you love. That trillium. That cardinal trilling his scarlet morning song. That sunrise, that quarter-moon. Those stars blazing in the night sky. That smell of pines needles, or of fresh, moist earth. That beautiful planet Earth. They are all–it is all–still worthy of our attention. Still a vast resource of… peace. Still a reminder of that delicate balance, that remarkable cosmic equilibrium, required for life on Earth. And for our individual lives as well.

The ‘marching monks’ remind us. Any good religion or philosophy worth its salt reminds us, the lessons of our parents and grandparents, who lived through much, remind us, the stories of ancestors who did not return from hellish conflicts, and the history books, and the country’s founding documents and ideals, and the simple beauty of a flower, which ‘enjoys the air it breathes,’ all remind us. Peace exists. It can exist in our minds, and in our world.

Sometimes we must fight for it. Defend it. And, sometimes, we must simply remember it. And go for a walk or sit under a favorite tree, or listen to a bird song, and just absorb it. Breathe it in. Accept it. Feel it, in its return and restoration.

It has always been a delicate balance. And it always will be. And in our own lives and minds, we can still nurture it. One little bit of peace at a time.