Reflection for Christmas

What is the foundation of genuine peace? This the question whose answer is always being sought on religious occasions anywhere. The story of Christmas also seeks to answer this question although this is not as easy as it might seem.

In reality peace never comes from above, much less from any structure of hierarchy. Power, which provides leeway for social stratification, and peace seldom meet.

The essence of peace is determined by our closeness to and our honesty towards the existing realities of the day. The more removed we are, physically and mentally, from those daily realities, the farther we also are from attaining peace.

A proverb says, "Your heart is where your wealth is". This saying reveals that, in essence, power is the hoarding of wealth in the physical as well as spiritual sense.

It is this process that is the reason why, in the end, power always tends to distance a man's spirit from those daily realities.

Who has the most wealth and thus is most inclined to distance himself from genuine peace? The answer is not hard to find. It is more difficult to find a framework that will make it easier for people to be honest towards those realities.

-- Kompas, Jakarta