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Inner and outer harmony - Ian Miguel's story

In my recent post, God has blessed us to bless others, I told you about meeting Ian and José Carlos on the beach while they were doing an environmental survey to track global warming. After talking for a little while about their project, I told them about my passion for peace, and the storytelling project that I was conducting around the world. When I asked Ian what peace mean to him, I was struck by the answer.

"Peace is not just the lack of war; it's more than that," he began. "It's the feeling of being comfortable in the culture, the society one is surrounded by." Having learned where else I had travelled, he continued, "We can apply stories from Palestine and New York in Mexico. I'm not directly impacted by drug cartels. No one is aiming a gun at me. Peace means more than that, internal peace. No one can have peace if they are not peaceful inside."

 

Peace is more than not having a gun to your head. It's harmony between your inner being and external life. No one can have peace if they are not peaceful inside. – Ian Miguel

 

At that time, I didn't realise how personal the metaphor of not having a gun to his head was. He and José Carlos had almost doubled the length of their trip to Puerto Angel to avoid armed vigilante checkpoints and drug lords along the way (read more about their journey in José Carlos’ story, A little bit crazy, a little bit happy).

We had such a good time talking that Ian offered to be my translator as I collected more peace stories in Mexico. When we next met I was prepared with a camera and tripod, and asked him to tell me more about his definition of peace. I'll let you hear it for yourself in his own words.

 

I completely agree with Ian that peace is multifacted. It is more than the lack of violence; we need a centre of peacefulness within us to allow us to enjoy and extend peace to our relationships and daily life. I also am deeply affected by music, and am curating a series of "PositiveSpin by CryPeace" playlists on Spotify for when you need peaceful soundtracks for your day. Turn on the tunes, call your family and friends, and celebrate joy and peace!

 

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