Peace is an important aspect of Druidry. It is only when we have peace within ourselves that we can truly work from a place of honour in relationship to the rest of the world. When we have peace, we are not striving. There are so many things that we may intentionally or unintentionally strive for: recognition, power, fame, and more. Finding worth in ourselves and in our work leads us toward a peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world. It is working with deep intention. It helps us navigate the obstacles that we may discover in our life’s journey, in good relationship.
Peace and Sovereignty
I see sovereignty and peace as being inextricably entwined. We cannot have one without the other. Sovereignty is obtained when we come to a deep understanding of ourselves and how we work in the world mentally, physically, and emotionally. When we know ourselves, when we understand why we do the things that we do, when we can control our thoughts and feelings and live lives of intention instead of reaction, then we are truly sovereign of our life. This comes from a deep well of peace, where we find that inner core of ourselves that is silent and still, that sings our soul song in its purest form. It is our personal truth. Neither sovereignty nor peace can be conferred from without; both must begin from within.
Peace is related to truth. We have to be willing to be open and honest with our selves, to see through our many layers of delusion in order to understand our very being. We have to see the good and the bad, acknowledge all these within ourselves—and through this acknowledgment, gain some control, some sovereignty, over our behaviour. Too often we run from the truth, whether it is the truth about ourselves or the truth about something like climate change. To face these truths requires us to change, to possibly suffer, in order to bring about that change. We don’t like change. We don’t like suffering. Yet we cannot escape either of these things. To truly live means to live a life that has good and bad within it; let’s transcend those notions of good and bad and just live. When we do that, we move beyond suffering. We face our truth, and in facing our truth, we find peace.
Peace is achieved when we manage to step beyond our selves, to switch off that inner chatter, that constant thinking instead of being. This does not mean that we become robots with no thoughts, feelings, or emotions. Rather, we do not attach to them, we do not spend so much time with them, entertaining them as they go round and round in our minds. We step outside of that, moving beyond our own story in order to see the story of the world around us as it unfolds in every moment. This peace can be achieved with discipline, with daily meditation, with time spent out in nature. There is no limit to our ability to learn what this means each and every day. Little by little, we come closer to joy. When we realise the world is more than just us, we find peace.
We cannot control how others behave. We only have control over how we behave in the world, how we act and react to others. We can lessen our reaction to others to a more intentional way of being through mindfulness of our thoughts, our bodies, and the world around us. When things like pride and anger are not getting in the way, we can see things for what they really are. We have no need to threaten others, to undermine others, to make them suffer. We realise that in doing so we are only doing that to ourselves, through the interrelatedness of nature. Letting go of the ego’s need for validation, for constant chatter, for endless self-centred thinking, we can dive into the still, calm pools of reflection where peace is found. We find that we can contemplate the self without recrimination or judgement. When we can do that with ourselves, we are able to do that with others. When we do this, we are working mindfully, with compassion and understanding.
It can be difficult when others deliberately try to shatter our peace, to shake our foundation and inner sovereignty. But we cannot control them and can only have compassion for them, as they are so caught up in their suffering that they feel it necessary to spread it out into the wider world. We can instead find our true sense of self-worth, our inner sovereignty, and let that light shine out in the world. We are our actions as well as our words. Our deeds are what are lasting in an impermanent world.
We can be at peace even in a world that seems to be going to hell in a handbasket. We can be at peace when others are trying to cut us down. We can be at peace in a world that is so materialistic and consumer-driven that it is making itself extinct. That peace is the core of our being. We know ourselves and, in that knoweledge, can remove the reactionary behaviour that might lead us off the path of peace in our personal sovereignty. That peace is within each and every one of us if we are willing to see it and acknowledge it, to work to gain sovereignty of our souls. Through the opening of the eyes and the soul, we find that still, deep pool of being and of knowing and there we reign supreme.
Peace, Justice, and Permaculture
“Conflict resolution” consists of two words that very much need to be taken into consideration in today’s political, social, and economic climates. I would like to add a third word, which is “honour.” When we are taking into consideration the bigger picture, the benefit to the whole, changing our perception to a more holistic one, then we are on the path toward honourable conflict resolution. Where each part matters, where each part has value, much akin to the animist’s view of the world wherein all of nature has inherent value, this worldview can help us to provide the solutions necessary in order to solve some deep problems. Too often it is easy to criticise; we often forget we must also offer solutions.
I teach my apprentices about the concept of ethical leadership, how we can work and explore ways in which groups with differing opinions, mindsets, politics, and worldviews can still operate cooperatively. Many aspects found within permaculture are a brilliant source of inspiration. Druidry is all about relationship and relationship is also at the heart of permaculture. Nature works cooperatively in order to provide a functioning homeostasis. Yes, there are brief flashes of competition here and there, but for the most part every aspect of nature works with others in order to survive.
If we look at mycorrhizal fungi, those tiny filaments of connecting threads that run underground connecting tree to tree in a forest, connecting many other plants and fungi, we see in a microcosm paradigm that everything is connected. Furthermore, there have been studies wherein it was found that, through these connecting threads, plants could help other plants, working cooperatively instead of competing for the best space and light. Trees in the sunlight could and did collect nourishment and nutrients that were then sent to trees in the shade that had little or no access. They did not even have to be of the same species: trees and other plants simply helped each other.
Unless we are hermits, we will have interaction with other humans. What we need to relearn is how to do so in a beneficial way, without falling into modern-day society’s obsession with competition. It’s not a dog-eat-dog world out there. Much of patriarchy and capitalism revolves around this idea of competition, and we need to let that go in order to find more balance in society as a whole. So how do we work with people whose perception is so different from our own? How can be bridge the gap, find the language, work honourably and sustainably with one another?
If we are working with a group and that group begins falling apart with bickering or power struggles, we need to look closely at how that situation came about in the first place. If we are in the role of leader, then it is up to us to communicate with all involved and find out just what is going on, getting different perspectives on the matter. We then need to look at the situation from a different perspective altogether, which is where permaculture can help us to widen our perception further, outside the human element, allowing the authority to come from nature.
If there is a problem in a garden, a proponent of permaculture would look deeply into the issue. If there is a mould or a damaging/invading insect in the garden, the solution would not be to just tackle the mould or the bug. Instead, one would look at the conditions that allowed such a thing to occur, looking deeply into the issue without any bias. Only then can more than one solution be offered and perhaps one that is more effective.
If we relate that to group dynamics, we could be more successful in addressing more than one problem at a time. If there is conflict within the group, we could solve a single problem by kicking out the ones who are perceived to be creating the conflict. But then another person might take their place, doing the same amount of damage. If we took a permaculture perspective, we would also look at the reasons why such a thing was allowed to occur, and the reasons could be many and varied. We may find that if we address the climate and conditions that created the tension in the first place, it would all stop and no one would have to leave. Only when all issues are addressed will there be any honourable conflict resolution.
As a Druid, I take my inspiration and my authority from nature. Nature is my teacher. Through nature I learn how to function in my environment and how to take the lessons that I have learned in my own locality and apply or adapt them to any location that I find myself in. Talking to the spirits of place, the ancestors, the gods, I can get a feel for what it is that I owe in return for what I have been given. I can work toward balanced, reciprocal, sustainable, and inspired relationship.
That doesn’t mean that there will never be conflict. But when there is, we can see each conflict as a challenge and opportunity to learn more about ourselves and about the world. We don’t need to have everyone like us and we don’t have to like everyone, but we can learn how to operate in a society where we want or desire very different things. And where honourable conflict resolution is unobtainable, perhaps through continuing abuse or damage to our own well-being in any shape or form, we can learn to extract ourselves from the situation and find a new path forward. Much as when I am walking in the forest and see a patch of nettles, I will not walk through them, trying to find a relationship with them; I can honour them for what they are, but still avoid them. Some things simply will not work together, no matter how much we would like them to. Acceptance is a large part of permaculture and of peace of mind.
When we are working in such a manner, we will find peace not only for ourselves, but hopefully for others as well. Justice only arises when we have found some semblance of peace in ourselves and in the world. When we work holistically, honourably, in a desire to be utterly integrated—then we truly walk the path of the Druid.
The Hedge Druid is hurt and betrayed, her peace shattered all around her. She has been let down once again by her work colleagues and knows not what to do or where to turn. There has not been any peace in her life for weeks, as she struggles through the situation with daily attacks upon her work and no one to intervene. She steps through the hedge at the bottom of her garden, and there before her is a small muntjac deer. They look at each other for long moments, the deer and the Druid, both frozen in place and in time. Slowly, the Hedge Druid exhales and realises that there is a whole world out there beyond the situation and regains sovereignty of her soul. She knows who she is and that is what matters most. The little muntjac twitches an ear and then bounds away. The Hedge Druid smiles and thanks the deer for its wisdom.