Dear Arooj, You have asked me about my views about peace and how is my peace philosophy connected with my Green Zone and humanistic philosophy. So in this letter I will share with you some of the highlights of my philosophy that I have acquired over the decades. PEACE IS MORE THAN ABSENCE OF WAR It has been my observation that many people confuse peace with absence of war. I think the way health is more than absence of disease and illness, similarly peace is more than absence of war. Sometimes the war is not revealed, it is rather concealed. We saw that during the cold war between U.S.A and U.S.S.R. There were mutual hostilities but there were no bombs thrown on each other’s soil. Both countries were afraid of each other’s atomic power. So the peace that conceals fear and anxiety is not genuine peace. Similarly since September 11th. 2001, in America there is escalating fear because of which American Government has made laws that are very restrictive. American Government officials state that those laws are made to make her citizens feel safe and secure, but in reality it is doing the opposite. People are getting more insecure and nervous and unable to move and travel freely inside and outside the country worrying about the potential terrorist attacks. That fear and apprehension is not only on the rise in America, it is also spreading to Middle East and other parts of the world. In the last few weeks the Americans inside and outside America are feeling vulnerable. The anger and hostility against American Government all over the world is on the rise. One friend told me that American Foreign Embassies are becoming mini fortresses. Foreign Embassies of other countries have an open access to public while American Embassies have a dark cloud hanging over their heads. Such a fear, anxiety and apprehension undermines the peace that we see on the surface. PEACE WITHOUT JUSTICE IS NOT LASTING If we want peace to last, we need to create fair and just societies. Those communities where there is gross imbalance of wealth and power are always vulnerable to angry outbursts and violent outbreaks. When people are suffering because they are discriminated on the basis of religion, race, gender, language, sexual orientation, class and other characteristics, they feel the frustrations and become angry. Over a period of time that anger can turn into resignation and depression or transform into violent outbursts. That violence can be at a personal or at a communal level. At an international level such violence can give birth to wars and initiate a cycle of violence that can be passed on from one generation to another. PEACE STARTS IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS I am quite amazed when people see war as only a political, national and international problem. They believe that only presidents, prime ministers, kings and dictators can begin and end wars. They do not see how each one of us contribute in creating a violent or a peaceful society. I believe that wars are the collective expressions of hostilities that we harbor for our enemies. The Presidents and the Army Generals are only the tips of the icebergs. I always believed that our personal lives are intimately connected with our social and political lives. Nations get the leaders they deserve. If they do not like the people who lead them then they can take steps to change the leadership. To be peaceful one needs to be strong as weak people are full of fears, apprehensions and vulnerabilities. People who initiate war with others are usually at war with themselves. GREEN ZONE PHILOSOPHY Being a psychotherapist and a writer for more than two decades I have developed a Green Zone Philosophy that is the synthesis of my personal and professional experiences and also an integration of the principles of humanistic psychotherapy and philosophy. Although I have shared the details of my Green Zone Philosophy in my series of books, The Art of Living/Loving/Working in Your Green Zone, in this letter I will share with you some of its highlights as they connect with my philosophy of personal and global peace. GREEN ZONE PEOPLE It is my belief that to lead a healthy and happy and peaceful life we all need to live in our Green Zone and to discover our Green Zone we need to discover that special gift that life has given us. When we discover our special gift and make it an integral part of our dream then it provides us with our goal and makes our lives meaningful. To live in our Green Zone we adopt a lifestyle in which we become aware how different people and circumstances affect them. In that journey we not only recognie the stressful circumstances that push us in our Yellow and Red Zones but also find ways to recover from Yellow and Red Zones and also find steps to restrain from falling into Yellow and Red Zones. In this way even when we enter Yellow and Red Zones of anger and frustration and sadness we can drive through them rather than parking there for a long time. People living in the Green Zone do not spend too much time in Yellow and Red Zones. To adopt a Green Zone Lifestyle we need to become aware of our conditioned self that is guided by should, must and have to and also our natural self that is guided bylike to, want to and love to. To discover Green Zone Lifestyle we need to develop our natural self that brings excitement, enthusiasm and happiness. I encourage people to develop a hobby, that can become a passion and then transform into a dream. Different people follow different routes to discover their Green Zone Lifestyle. Some take the road of creativity while others take the route of spirituality and there are others who become part of organizations who serve humanity by doing voluntary work. Whichever road people follow or whichever route they take, the goal is to get in touch with one’s best qualities and then build a lifestyle around those qualities. It is not possible for communities to be in the Green Zone if people, who are building blocks of the community, are not living in their Green Zone. I believe that every human being has the responsibility to discover their Green Zone and if they cannot do it on their own then they need to ask help from friends and relatives or get professional help from psychotherapists. GREEN ZONE RELATIONSHIPS After becoming aware what Zones people live in their personal lives I suggest to people to review their close relationships. Like people, relationships also live in the Green, Yellow and Red Zones. People who live in the Green Zone also enjoy relationships in the Green Zone. When I meet people who are involved in Yellow and Red relationships in my professional life I ask them to approach those people and suggest them to work together to bring the relationships in the Green Zone by communicating better and resolving conflicts to improve the quality of relationships. If the other person is not interested in resolving conflicts then I suggest to people that they have to distance themselves so that they are not affected by the negativity of such people. Sometimes if people cannot sort out their differences on their own, I suggest them to consider improving their relationship by getting a mediator which can be a friend or a therapist. I share with people that for a relationship to be in the Green Zone both parties have to be motivated to keep the relationship in the Green Zone. Only one person cannot keep the relationship in the Green Zone as a Green Zone communication is only possible when both parties are in the Green Zone. GREEN ZONE SYSTEMS Alongside being involved in the emotional relationships people interact with systems on a regular basis. Those systems are Family Work and Community For people to live in the Green Zone they have to become aware what Zone does each system live in. It is very hard for people to live in the Green Zone if the system they are interacting with is in the Red Zone as systems are usually stronger and more powerful than individuals. To cope with Red Zone Systems I encourage people to wear an emotioal raincoat which is a mental preparation to be minimally affected by the negativity and toxicity of the system. For example if the work environment is in the Red Zone, I encourage people to have a support network where colleaues can find ways to cope with the stresses and help each other deal with it. Becoming aware of the stressors and supports help people cope with Red Zone Systems. Many people try to deal with it for a while and then find ways to leave the system and discover a Green Zone System by getting a different job or moving to a different community. When we see people’s lives from childhood to old age, we realize that people learn certain ways to express themselves and deal with their problems depending upon their environments. Those children are lucky who grow up in Green Zone families, schools and communities, who have caring, nurturing and loving adults in their lives who help them develop their potential and talent and guide them to discover their Green Zone Lifestyle. Such children have good role-models and are able to develop positive self esteem and self image and become healthy, happy and peaceful adults. Such children develop peace rather than violent consciousness and learn that conflicts can be resolved peacefully whether in the family, school, community or in the world. They learn to respect other people’s traditions and lifestyles. They develop a humanistic philosophy and lifestyle in which people are accepted for their strengths and qualities and respected for their contributions to society raather than judged for their limitations and weaknesses. PEACE/VIOLENT CONSCIOUSNESS I have been quite intrigued how children’s peace consciousness is transformed into violent consciousness by certain organizations and insititutions. It has been my observation and experience that the institutions of Religion and Nationalism Can play a significant role in developing violent consciousness. Some religions rather than encouraging an attitude of respect for other religious and spiritual traditions insist that not only their religion is better but also feel that they have to impose it on others either by preaching or by declaring holy wars. Human history is full of such holy wars whether they were called crusades or jihads, in which millions of innocent people were killed in the name of God. Similarly wars were declared and fought for Nationalism and people were asked to sacrifice their lives on the name of patriotism. It is my opinion that religious and political wars throughout history not only killed millions of innocent people, they also developed cycles of violence in which hatred for a certain religious or political group or nation has been passed on from one generation to another. Such hatred is very dangerous for the future of humanity. I believe that to create peace consciousness we need to review our traditions and philosophies of religion and nationalism and develop a philosophy of respecting other people’s traditions, lifestyles and national boundaries. I do not believe that any government has any right to invade another country and insist on changing their governemnt. I am also of the opinion that to develop peace consciousness we have to teach people not only to develop empathy for the victim but also compassion for the oppressor. To help oppressors to change and transform oppressors and stop the cycle of violence we need mediators who have a positive relationship with them so that they can learn that violence and war are not only harmful for the oppressed but are also dangerous for the oppressors as they make themselves and their children vulnerable for future violent attacks. When victims get stronger then they retaliate. So the tradition of fighting hate with hate has not served humanity very well. I think time has come to review our traditions of resolving personal, social and political conflicts. Dear Arooj, The War Against Iraq is forcing us to review our personal, national and international traditions and philosophies. I believe that international organizations like United Nations have the role not only to pass resolutions but also to implement them. There are a number of unresolved political issues in the world, whether it is the issue of Kashmir or Palestine, where United nations had passed resolutions so that people of those lands can choose their government and lifestyle but those resolutions were not respected by some countries. Such a situation has created a global unrest. After the fall of USSR the world balance has become very lopsided and America has become the only superpower in the world. In War Against Iraq United Nations played a dangerous role. They first disarmed Iraq and then did not stop America to attack. In this way the lives of Iraqi citizens alongside Iraqi and American soldiers were put to risk. I believe that for us to live in a peaceful world, either we need to have a strong and effective United Nations that is respected by all counties in the world or we need such a strong people’s opinion by developing global peace consciousness that they can force governments to restrain from declaring a war. I believe that if peace consciousness prevails then common men and women will think twice before they join the army, violent religious organization or a terrorist group. The day people realize that war is also a form of state terrorism of strong and powerful countries against weak and vulnerable countries we might have a different world. To live and grow in a peaceful world we do not have to live in constant threats of acts of violence and terrorism and state laws that are restrictive, discriminatory and punitive. I believe we as human beings are at a cross roads. We have to decide individually and collectively to choose the road of violence and terrorism and commit collective suicide or murder or join the road of peace and live in a harmonious world. To do that we need to develop global peace consciouness so that our children and grand children do not have to face wars and terrorism. I am quite aware that it is my dream but I also believe that our dreams provide us with motivation to make it a reality and make our lives meaningful. Having a dream of a peaceful world helps me live and grow in my Green Zone and I hope that more and more people, families and communities discover their Green Zone so that we can all create and live in a peaceful Green Zone World. Affectionately Sohail April 7th, 2003. |