All In One - Moving Beyond Tolerance

Beyond the lines of tolerance
Lies a vast and fertile land
And a farmer out amidst the fields, planting seeds of love and respect
He waves to all the men and women watching from the fence
To join him in the growth beyond the lines of tolerance

True peace can live when a heart forgives and lets oppression fall
True peace can grow in a heart that knows how to listen to the call…
That sings…

Chorus:
I am All in One, One in All
I am All in One, One in All
One in All

Society has told us toleration is enough
But toleration seeds have grown
In soil devoid of love
To break beyond the boundaries,
limitations of the mind
We must learn to channel anger
into waves of Human Kind

True peace will thrive in a heart that finds, and cultivates, respect
True peace will flower amidst the power of compassion hearts expressed
That sing…

Chorus:
I am All in One, One in All
I am All in One, One in All
One in All
X2

Be the change, and you will feel it
in your heart
Be the change, and you will see it
in the world

Chorus:
I am All in One, One in All
I am All in One, One in All
One in All
X3

(Dedicated to, and inspired by, the life and message of Dr. Arun Gandhi)

In early November, I was in the airport, making my way to a morning flight, when I heard the first bout of never-ending holiday music hit the air waves. The woman working airport security seemed disgruntled about something, and then looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I don’t know what to do some days when this time of year comes…we have to listen to the same holiday songs over and over again from now through January 1st…it’s enough to drive you crazy!” I sympathized as I made my way past security and on to my gate, now beginning to percolate about the deeper message of the holiday season, questions bubbling up to the front of my mind.

I kept returning to the frazzled vibration of the airport worker, and realized that for so many people, December becomes a heightened time of EXPECTATIONS rooted in belief systems from religion, family and society. It is a time when we are “supposed” to feel more united in a sense of Peace, but where in reality, we often become more separated from others than usual, due to religious alignments and ritualistic differences.

Considering the many disturbing acts of violence and anger in the world as of late, I decided it is a most important time to explore the concept of peace in more depth. Almost immediately, I realized that the perfect person to interview on this topic would be Dr. Arun Gandhi himself, who had made it his life’s mission to carry on the peace work and messages of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi.

Two days later, I was sitting in a sunlit kitchen in Chattanooga, TN, talking on the phone with Arun about peace. I started in with my main question, “Arun, I’ve been thinking a lot about peace and the importance of religious tolerance during the holiday season. Can you talk a bit about this and share any wisdom about maintaining a sense of peace within during this time?”

I heard Arun’s calm and smooth voice from the other side of the line, “Well, to begin to find peace, we must stop using the word “tolerance.” We continuously hear the word “tolerance” used around the subject of peace, but rather than uniting us, it divides. Merely tolerating each other is not enough…it is an idea based in negativity. To find peace, we must get beyond tolerance into a space of respect, love and compassion for all people. We must learn to honor each other with these virtues, even if our beliefs and practices are different. If we can come from that place within, we will flourish.”

I felt Arun’s words waking me up on the cellular level, making me aware of my own previous limitations around the subject of peace. I had gotten so used to hearing and using the word “tolerance” that I had never really stopped to think of how it holds us back, instilling separation, wanting only the bare minimum commitment out of us as fellow human beings skirting around the “p” word. I saw the importance of shifting my own thinking and vocabulary, and consciously began removing roadblocks of the word “tolerance,” creating space for the infinite expressions of respect and love on a growth oriented path to peace.

After talking for a while with Arun, he led me to an article that had been written, about his life and peace mission, in Science of Mind Magazine…he knew it would give me more to think about for a song on this topic…and it definitely did!

After purchasing the special little magazine at Barnes and Noble, I turned to the article entitled, “The Peace Farmer, Dr. Arun Gandhi,” and felt inspiring visions start to swirl in my heart and mind as I read Arun’s words: “Grandfather said that we, as individuals, can only plant the seeds of understanding, peace and harmony, and since planting is usually done by farmers, I call myself a peace farmer. When others believe in the philosophy of nonviolence and live it, they, too, become peace farmers.”

Arun also shared about his younger years as a boy living with Mahatma Gandhi and first learning, on the road to non-violence, how to manage his anger. He says, “If we use our anger destructively, it can cause great damage. However, if we channel that anger for a constructive purpose, it can energize and focus all our efforts. Because 80 percent of violence is generated by anger, which escalates into wars, it is important to learn at an early age how to manage and channel anger.”

Arun’s words rang as a powerful voice of truth in my heart and I found myself thinking, with deep compassion, of the millions of children growing up in harsh living conditions around the world. How hard must it be to deal with the endless rivers of internal anger, with no powerful role models or teachers around to offer creative tools and solutions to harness them?

Reflecting on my own life, which for the most part has been comfortable and peaceful, I realize that I have still had to negotiate with anger countless times. I have had instances where I give into my lower urges and let anger burst out in destructive ways, and I have experienced times where I have consciously let my anger flow in creative directions, to transform into positive action and change. The choice of how anger manifests is always up to me, but it takes practice and conscious cultivation to learn how to recognize anger when it comes up, and manage it in a positive way, before it is too late.

In the final part of the article about Arun, we learn about how in 1998, he created “ A Season of Non-Violence,” an annual time of mindfulness, which spans the 64 days between the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s death on January 30th to the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, April 4th, and “asks individuals to take steps in their lives to embody the principles of non-violence.” I like this…a powerful call to action. I see “the peace farmer” standing out in the field, calling us to come, step beyond the illusory barriers of “toleration,” and practice peace farming with our own hands, hearts and actions. Arun does not align with any particular religion, but says he is a “Hindu/Muslim/Christian/Buddhist. I am all in one, one in all.”

If we can all start to embrace this kind of oneness awareness as we grow and practice our peace farming skills, we will have no choice but to evolve as human beings, and planet Earth will reflect the rich beauty of our conscious growth. Thanks to powerful role models like Dr. Arun Gandhi, we can better learn how to till the soil of our inner landscape, tune into our own emotional weather channels, and start experiencing the colorful flowering of peace, love and respect in action!