Peaceful Living: Altering the Universal Fight Club into a Peaceful Garden

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Among the many legends written about King Arthur, there is a peculiar one that captured my attention. It goes thus: Before becoming King, Arthur wanted to be a knight for which he had undergone some training under the master magician Merlyn. This was quite common among the aspirants to knighthood. During one of his training spells, he had encountered a Badger. The Badger had taught him a number of things but when the topic of war and violence arose, Arthur was taken aback when he found out that humans, along with five different species of ants, are the only species that wage war against their own species. Man, above all, is not only the King of the animals but also a tyrant.

A contradictory way of life

I am not sure about the five species of ants but we humans are really living up to the legend, and not to our original vocation. Our world was meant to direct us towards harmonious living, but we have turned it into a ‘universal fight-club’. International warfare, terrorist attacks and suicide bombers have turned this once ‘Garden of Eden’ into a blood-splattering chessboard. Our motto has reverted from ‘Love your enemies and do good to those who hurt and persecute you’ to ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. Civilization seems to be progressing with the rapid changes and developments in technology. However, the way we use it seems to indicate that we are becoming super-advanced savage beasts. Even, our newspapers thrive on the production of news reports where people have been killed, public property destroyed and international threats have been made to release nuclear weapons.
Our world was meant to direct us towards
harmonious living, but we have
turned it into a ‘universal fight-club’.

Violence’s serious ramifications

All this seems to have serious repercussions on all of us. Though we may not be involved in major violent attacks or threats, we tend to see everyone around us as dangerous and a potential threat to our peace of mind. We could get unnecessarily tensed, irritated, angry, jealous or frustrated with the people we meet. In doing this, we eventually lose our sleep, break friendships and become easily irritable. Moreover, our behaviour gets further affected when we are exposed to the most popular video games present today like PUBG, Free Fire, Call of Duty among others. Research has shown that those who are hooked on to these games eventually start imitating their behaviour. The imitated behaviour may not be as explicit as the game portrays it to be but we assimilate the attitudes and values in the game in very subtle ways. Thus, we initiate ‘mini-wars’ in our lives that in some way resonate well with the international violence that is prevalent.
I strongly believe that each of us is searching for peace 

Bringing the change

Change is needed and it begins with us. Just as charity begins at home so too does peaceful living; It begins with our search for peace of mind. Once we are able to attain peace of mind, our peaceful living among others can ignite the spark for a revolution of peace. I strongly believe that each of us is searching for peace amidst an aura of violence. And so, living in peace is a strong witness that would inspire any and every one. Becoming aware of how violence in the world affects us is just the first step. It is an impetus for us to be missionaries of peace. It is our duty to prove the Badger in the legend wrong. The task to convert the universal fight club back into the Garden of Eden is entrusted to us. Are you willing to be that change?

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