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War & Peace

Interpersonal Peace & Refusing Abuse

Jessica Park shares some personal lessons in peace.

I recently ran into an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in several years, and his first question was, “How are you?” That was easy to answer; I was out with my kids and a few friends at a local festival. Without hesitation I said, “I’m great!” He followed up with a second question, “What have you been up to the last couple of years?”

That one was less easy. The first response that flashed through my mind was a bit sardonic: “You know, the usual… I married an abusive alcoholic, which turned out to be a bad idea… so, I’m divorced again.” But that internal response was tempered by the immediate follow-up, “Now I feel stronger and more joyful than ever.” Of course, I didn’t say any of that out loud.

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