Leave Peace to Priests & We'll Take Common Ground

In the wake of the US/Iran nuclear deal, headlines about "peace" abound. But when I see this word, I feel cynical. Not cynical about the deal itself, but cynical about the word "peace."

Billions of people struggle with hunger, and hundreds of millions live in war zones. In this context, the word "peace" sounds like a laughable joke. It has become an unattainable ideal, like "enlightenment" and "unconditional love." These are external words that have only been made real by people in books, messiahs, or folklore.

These concepts are made into brass rings of self-punishment because they remove oneself from the present. They force one's mind into a scale of ranking, and if you don't meet or pass the bar set by folklore, you somehow deserve to be punished.

I am here to end this. I want to create a means of communication so that we can live together with common ground and understanding, not spoon-fed concepts of magic.

Common ground is the equal conditions under which all humans exist. We all worry about our aging parents, how to take care of our loved ones and ourselves, and how to make ends meet. We all laugh with the people we love, and we all find our friends and family ridiculous at times.

The family in rural Africa has a crazy uncle, just like you do. The cultural nuances may be different, but the basic human experience is the same. Parents all over the world want the best for their kids. These are common-ground concepts that transcend ideology.

How many of you have a story about a sacrifice your parents or grandparents made for your family? Most of you do. And you know what acknowledging that sacrifice means to your neighbor and your community.

We all have common ground, all 7 billion of us. We have different cultures and different paths, but we still have common ground. With common ground, two or more parties can begin walking towards a common goal.

So many great relationships are created this way. Through groups at work, teammates training together, or a thousand people dancing at a show. We might not know each other's history or story, but we are standing on the same ground.

Personally, I kickbox every day with people from all walks of life. We have different religions, politics, and moral beliefs. But we sweat and push each other to be better, with incredible support and praise through injury, soreness, and growth. Laughably and literally, pain is our common ground.

On the other hand, we have mutated the idea of "peace" into a concept of completely negating the human experience, which is living. We have come to expect that peace must also bring utopia. So the word carries a mythical concept projected onto real-world humans, as an expectation.

Of course, peace talks break down and peace accords are broken, because they began with a concept of mythical reality.

This is why peace is for the priest. Those who seek perfection only discover sabotage. Seek your common ground with your community or within your inner struggles. It is there.