The Anatomy of Peace
I’ve been a member of Benjamin Hardy’s online course Accelerated Momentum Program (AMP) since 2017, and one of the recommended readings this year is “The Anatomy of Peace”.
It’s a story about two men whose respective tribes have been century-old enemies (Israeli and Arab). They both lost parents in wars, yet have come to understand how to find peace within and between themselves.
They’ve since formed an institute that helps parent with troubling children to reconcile family relations. The story has a fictional background, but the events they reflect are real and close.
One of the main concepts the book talked about is our view towards other people as being “object” or “human”, where the former would become the basis of an apathetic / warring attitude, while the latter would give rise to qualities such as understanding, respect, trust, and peace.
“Objects” are basically obstacles that stand in the way of our goals and pursuits, and should be eradicated with the least amount of time and effort. While if we view another party as a “human”, we’d be more willing to consider and side with their concerns, while creating peace in the process.
The most striking revelation however, is that the cause of our warring attitude of seeing others as “objects” actually come from our own self-betrayal of not executing what we knew at heart were right. Once we’ve done this (say turn a blind eye towards a person in need), we have a “need” to start seeing the people as “object”, in order to justify our actions.
I find the concepts and revelations in the book quite fascinating, as it paints a very different picture from our commonly held views/belief about the root cause of conflicts or wars. Previously I’d think of it as having conflicting interests, or simply different value systems that may not reconcile.
However, I’m beginning to see the validity of the book’s claims, that for example, my wife or children’s negative attitudes towards me, were in fact caused by my ignorance of their needs, as seeing them as “objects” obstructing myself from “getting my work done”.
It’s a great revelation that provides much room for thoughts and reflections, and most importantly, a way to finally resolve the conflicts around us, once we may be able to see their true nature and causes.
Many problems and social issues today, including that of poverty and wealth inequality, may also be the result of warring parties and hearts. The beginning of the solution may start when we’re finally willing to see the other parties, whether they are rich or poor, as the same human beings as us.
