A university has a large range of courses.
Students enroll and choose the courses they need in order to achieve the learning they want. In order that they can progress on their journey.
This can be seen as an analogy for life on Earth.
If we assume, for the purposes of this philosophical discussion, that reincarnation exists, it would mean that Earth is like our karmic university.
In such a construct, elements of higher consciousness (’souls’) incarnate on Earth into human bodies in order to experience certain learning. (And some physical enjoyment as well.) They would then choose the learning they need before arriving, and they would stay only as long as they needed to in order to achieve that learning.
Like any top school, Karma University has all of its courses running at all times.
Whether we consider any point in history or today, every possible human experience — from one extreme of privilege and pleasure to the other extreme of suffering and pain — is always happening somewhere on this planet.
All forms of learning are available here at all times, in order that a consciousness enrolling here can choose the experiences (and the learning partners) that they most need. Although we may not always understand the deeper purpose of our learning while experiencing a difficult or seemingly-unrelated assignment.
When we look around us and see all those ‘other courses’ running, we might despair that the planet is not yet everywhere in a state of tolerance, cooperation, and peace. Alternatively, we can recognize Karma University for what it is. We can look at things from a perspective that brings the focus back to where it should be — on the learning that we are here for, the learning that we ourselves have chosen. We are here to take our own highly-customized course, not everybody else's. We are here to master our own karma, not theirs.
Instead of waiting for the world to be in a state of peace in order for us to feel at peace, let us feel at peace:
1. because we know we are learning what we need to learn,
2. because we are resolving what we need to resolve, and with whom we need to resolve it,
3. and because we are progressing, in the ways that count for a higher consciousness who is on a multi-life journey of growth-oriented experience and conscious elevation.
Nice food for thought. Thanks for sharing.
Peace is an interesting thing. It's an internal state that is almost disjointed from the state of our surroundings. Almond, I say, because it depends on whether or not the data of our surroundings that we (first take then) process is deemed peace worthy. From this perspective one may argue that one can hack the brain to invoke peace irrespective of the input data, by using tools that lie on a spectrum ranging from optimum to faith. My personal tool of choice is meditation (although some would say a good Scotch ain't that bad either).
Also, the purposes of attaining peace are not unique. I believe the one that you are implicitly referring…