"Peace is not the absence of war." Spinoza said it, but it is mindlessly quoted out of context, for he added, "It is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice."
~ from A LITTLE COMPENDIUM ON THAT WHICH MATTERS by Frederick Franck
There is an interconnectedness, a oneness, an interrelationship of all life. We are not separate, isolated beings, but are all part of the great mystery of creation.
It is interesting to note that modern scientific thinking in many ways points to a similar underwstanding. An example of this is Bell's Theorem, which is sometimes referred to as the "butterfly effect."
It holds that the beating of a butterfly's wings can have an influence on events far away, even on the other side of the Earth.
~ from "Friends Journal" (09/2002) by Richard W. Siebels