Lara Charles is a Central Coast local, writer, and Aurore Energetics client who I adore. She explores the depths of our inner lives through her thought-provoking writing. Her work has been featured in respected publications internationally, and we are proud to showcase her insights on Aurore Energetics, especially given the current state of the world. As Lara says, ‘In a world at war, the peaceful warrior is our best weapon’. I couldn’t agree more! To read more of her work, visit laracharles.com or follow @laracharleswrites
Disclaimer: The conflict between Israel and Palestine is felt by us all. While it’s on the other side of the world, it’s in our homes too. We bear witness to horror and atrocities through the screens of our phones, we argue with neighbours and loved ones about what is right and wrong. To be upfront and clear, this piece of writing is not to argue for or against any ‘side’. Of course, I have personal opinions. But when I write, I write in the hope of reaching the place that sits beyond our opinions.
I don’t think there is one way to process the unprocessable. I often grapple with feelings of inadequacy. If you feel called to scream from the rooftops and take to the streets, do it. If you’re afraid to ruffle feathers yet pray, wish, and strive for a better world in your own quiet way, I see you. A forest is made up of both bold trees and hidden mushrooms. Yet the tree doesn’t criticise the mushroom for staying small. The mushroom doesn’t berate the tree for taking up space. They coexist.
When sitting with the anguish of it all, pondering questions like ‘What do we do? How do we be?’, I felt drawn to pick up my deck of Goddess cards. One thing struck me: often the Goddesses are pictured with flowers, children, or animals, symbolising nurturing, compassion, and love. But equally, the Goddesses are pictured with weapons—bows and arrows, swords—marks of power and strength.
These Goddesses are archetypes for dimensions of our humanity. And while these dimensions may appear contradictory, for me they hold the key to understanding how we react in the face of conflict.
The Goddess nurturing the fawn while wielding a sword is the place within which we are being called back to. It’s the fiercely tender and revolutionarily loving aspect within, the deep inner wellspring of compassion and strength. It’s the peaceful warrior.
And we need her.
To scream from the rooftops without this infinite wellspring of compassion and strength, we will burn out and become bitter or disillusioned.
To pray and hope without this infinite wellspring of compassion and strength, we lose our voice and become silenced.
We need our full humanness right now. For that, we must turn within.
Turning within is not about looking away. Quite the opposite. Turning within enables us to unearth the fiercely tender and revolutionarily loving aspect of our own hearts. It is the sweet spot in our humanness where we are less the giver of abuse and less the taker of abuse.
Peace is not some vague concept that implies the absence of conflict. Sometimes, especially when a person’s or people’s physical safety is at risk, force needs to be met with force. But force and strength from a place of ego look very different from force and strength from a place of the peaceful warrior.
The peaceful warrior votes X without criticising people who vote Y. The peaceful warrior calls out injustice without dehumanising the other. The peaceful warrior stands for peace without berating those who don’t stand with her. The peaceful warrior builds bridges and pursues understanding.
She, we, can share our truth, vote, speak, and act without the ‘us vs. them’ mentality, seeking justice, not vengeance, and avoiding further division. To truly help create a world with less division and war, we must first heal the division within—embracing and integrating both the dark and light parts of ourselves and remembering our wellspring of inner strength and empathy.
In a world at war, the peaceful warrior is our best weapon.
Author Bio
Residing on Darkinjung Country, Australian writer Lara Charles explores the depths of our inner lives through her thought-provoking writing, which has found a home in respected publications internationally. To read her work, visit laracharles.com or follow @laracharleswrites on Instagram.
