Mark Ristau's Blog - Posts Tagged "letting-go"

In December 2011, I left the corporate world for a new one—the world of a writer and budding first-time author. The next five years were dedicated to crafting a 700-page manuscript, originally entitled Even the Banyan Tree Knows Peace. When I wasn’t writing, I spent much of my time contemplating two of the story’s largest themes—the root causes of violence and the possibility of peace.

These themes are, of course, timely and important. The world we live in seems to be increasingly fragmented and divisive, not only in our political discourse, but in the manner in which we treat people we view as somehow different from us, based on nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, etc.

It is my personal belief that the discord and violence will come to an end only when we embrace the simple truth that each of us is an essential part of an interconnected, interdependent whole.

Embracing this truth will require nothing short of a heroic effort. For most of us, this means embarking on a journey that will lead to a radical transformation in consciousness.

It's about letting go of the "us vs. them" mentality. It's about letting go of our obsessive need to be right and make others wrong. It's about building bridges, not walls. It's about letting others into our hearts...

For many of us, letting down our guard against external threats is counter-intuitive. We're afraid of what might happen if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We're fearful that our enemies will take advantage of us and conquer us. So, we hunker down. We draw lines in the sand. We build walls. We raise armies. We close our hearts.

The hero's path—the one that leads to peace—requires the courage of a warrior and the open heart of a child. It requires the willingness to take a leap of faith into unfamiliar territory. A new world. A world where peace is possible...

A Hero Dreams
Mark Ristau
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