When war breaks out among men, more often than not, another war ignites within them. A quieter war — or sometimes completely silent — but one that demands even greater attention. This inner war directly concerns us; it is the one over which we have control. Unlike the external hostilities most of us cannot influence.
The inner war awakens all the demons lying dormant within Man, and his ugliest tendencies rise — quite literally — to the battlefield. Fear, anger, and hatred are the primary commanders leading the charge. Hatred — anger of the powerless — is the most despicable among them. Strangely enough, this commander does not rage and wreak havoc in the hearts of those fighting on the frontlines. These individuals often do not even have the time to feel fear, so consumed are they by action. Instead, it is those comfortably seated at home, in front of their screens or in conversation, who experience hatred — or compassion, fortunately, as there are those who feel it, though they remain a minority.
Wars are always regrettable, but sadly, given Humanity’s current level of consciousness, they still seem unavoidable.
Humanity is a great wheel that cannot move without crushing someone — Victor Hugo
As long as human beings fail to recognize that their neighbor is another version of themselves, they will remain silently at war with one another. It is naive to believe this war occurs only on battlefields. It unfolds daily in the hearts of men. Every judgment or rejection of differences contributes drops to a cloud of intolerance and, consequently, aggression, which eventually rains down externally. The use of weapons is merely the final phase of hostilities.
However, if Man is often at cold war with his neighbor, it is because his own inner space is not at peace. Contrary to what one might think, we do not wholly love ourselves, and many aspects of who we are remain repressed, unaccepted, and pushed into the shadows. Unknowingly, we project these aspects onto others, who serve as mirrors. And because, unfortunately, there are no laws protecting us from our own violence, we quietly endure internal conflicts—often unconscious—that sooner or later erupt into the open. This is true even if we are not direct participants but mere witnesses. Lao-Tzu understood this 26 centuries ago when he wrote:
If you want to eliminate all the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative within yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you can give to the world is your own transformation. — Lao-Tzu
That said, in the dualistic world we inhabit, the play of opposites is unceasing, as are the frictions it generates. Once we grasp that forces of affirmation and negation constantly operate both in the macrocosm and in the microcosm that we are, we cease to take sides in favor of one force against the other. Instead, we strive to reconcile them. On an individual level, this reconciliation ends internal conflicts by embracing the opposites within us. Collectively, it enables necessary transformations to occur without bloody confrontations. Only leaders capable of putting themselves in their adversaries’ shoes can achieve peaceful transitions. Such leaders are exceedingly rare.
While waiting for Humanity’s collective consciousness to rise to a level where it can avoid resorting to arms, we, at an individual level, do not have to become battlegrounds or host another war within ourselves.
To preserve our inner peace and avoid being affected by external turmoil, it is essential to refrain from judgment—not out of Christian charity but because world events do not have an immediate cause (causa proxima) but rather distant causes (causa remota) that contribute to their occurrence. Assigning blame to current actors is, on the one hand, a highly subjective act, as it varies from one perspective to another, and on the other hand, an unfounded judgment, as it attributes to individuals, however charismatic, powers granted to them by the masses that follow them. Responsibility, if sought, is always collective.
Sadly, it is human nature to point fingers and assign blame to relieve the burden of emotions we struggle to contain within ourselves. Curiously — and I observe this without judgment — the “scapegoat” chosen by the Lebanese during the current events we are experiencing differs from one individual to another. This proves how subjective our judgments are and underscores the need to abstain from them if we value our inner peace.
What about those who refrain from judging, who feel compassion but still question the meaning of what is happening?
Destruction, like the death it evokes, is painful for our mortal selves. Yet, as every trial conceals a blessing, the impermanence of things and beings pushes us to discover what is permanent beyond what changes. In the phenomenal world, there is no creation without destruction. The Hindus have deeply integrated this truth, and their Divine Trinity comprises Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Perhaps inspired by this Trinity, someone once deconstructed the word GOD into Generator, Operator, and Destroyer. Either way, it is somewhat naive to associate the term ”good God” solely with the act of creation. Equally naive would be to oppose life to death. The opposite of death is birth, and these two phenomena are part of Life, which endures beyond fleeting forms.
Thus, one aspect of the creative force is also destruction. Anyone who has read an English insurance policy will notice that the list of covered risks — what we call natural disasters — ends with ”…and other acts of God”. A new order can only emerge after disorder, and new beginnings often disguise themselves as painful endings. Carl Gustav Jung understood this well when he wrote, ”Cosmos is in the chaos“.
When our world seems to crumble before our eyes, it is the perfect time to turn inward to the unchanging backdrop within us. While no war can be won definitively—since there is never lasting peace externally but rather a series of ceasefires with varying intervals—it is possible to discover within ourselves a space of peace that nothing can disturb, akin to the eye of a cyclone, that region of absolute calm at the heart of a devastating phenomenon.