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Dear Heaven Maker:
I was once asked to speak to a group called JAM (Jews and Muslims), at a university in Florida. They asked me what my title would be and I instantly said: “Heaven on Earth for The Middle East.”
The night before my talk, I was invited to dinner with the Board of Directors of JAM. There was a Muslim and a Jewish co-president. The Board was composed of both Muslims and Jews. Everyone was chatting away, happy to be together. I’d never seen anything like it.
The next day, I got to the room where I was speaking, early, and as people came in I spoke one on one to many of them. The meeting was open to members of JAM and the general public.
I started my talk by asking how many people in the room thought there could be Heaven on Earth in The Middle East.
Some people put their hand up.
Others spoke out and said it was impossible. It was impossible because of ’them.’ For the Jews, it was the Arabs. For the Arabs, it was the Jews. Both sides had proof of why it was the the other side’s fault. Both sides said if it wasn’t for ’them,’ there would be peace. As long as ’they’ were here, there would be, there could be, NO PEACE.
I let this go on for a while to make a point.
As long as it’s ’Their Fault,’ your side is right. As long as ’They’ did what they did, there can be no peace.
What each side was doing and couldn’t see was that they were both playing the very same game, living from the same story – “We’re right, they’re wrong.” It was obvious in the room that the story was a stuck story and it would continue this way with no way out.
As an old teacher of mine used to say, “Being right is the booby prize.” It gives your side the satisfaction of being right … but, when you think of it, it’s an empty win. Why? Because while you’re being Right, the conflict, the killing, the wounding and the fear, continue. The lack of a safe, secure, and permanent peace could not even begin to be thought about. Even the possibility of peace could not exist. They were stuck in the concrete of “It’s their fault.”
Look at the history of the conflict. Isn’t it obvious it’s their fault. It all started because of ’them,’ and it’s obviously continuing because of ’them.’
Let’s step back for a moment and observe something, “We’re Right, They’re Wrong!” and the suffering continues. Let me say that again, “We’re RIGHT, They’re WRONG!” and the SUFFERING continues. It’s a hollow victory. It’s like a hamster running on a hamster wheel. It exerts great energy and goes nowhere!
Given what’s been going in the Middle East these days, isn’t our job to step off that wheel.
I told the audience, “You know what the problem is? Peace in The Middle East is too small a problem.” That got their attention.
I said, “We need a BIGGER ‘problem’ … Heaven on Earth.
I then asked them the three Heaven on Earth Questions:
- Recall a time when you experienced Heaven on Earth. What was happening?
- Imagine you have a magic wand and with it you can create Heaven on Earth. What is Heaven on Earth for you?
- What simple, easy, concrete step(s) will you take in the next 24 hours to make Heaven on Earth real?
We had an hour’s deep sharing and discussion on their answers. The ‘atmosphere’ in the room shifted to a much higher frequency. Everyone could feel it. It was now one group delving into what Heaven on Earth is and how to make that real.
With that in place, I asked a new fourth question:
“Using the same magic wand, what is Heaven on Earth for the Middle East?”
And guess what? They answered. They knew. Their Souls knew. They were no longer consumed with making ’them’ wrong. They were delving deeper into a new possibility that had arisen … Heaven on Earth for the Middle East.
It was a breakthrough.
And the answers: Peace, security, recognition, honoring, love, safety, a bright future.
What had been completely impossible because of ’Them,’ had now broken through into possibility.
As futurist David Houle says, “It’s solvable.”
We, Humanity, can have Heaven on Earth for the Middle East. Think of all the things that Humanity has thought were impossible that are now real.
Imagine what Heaven on Earth in the Middle East will unleash for our entire world. Imagine the hope, the joy, the laughter that will unleash.
Heaven on Earth for the Middle East is possible. It’s an idea whose time has clearly come. Declare it, invite it in….begin now.
Love,
Martin
PS: September 13, 1993, at the ceremony to sign the Declaration of Principles of the Oslo peace process:
Yitzhak Rabin, President of Israel, said:
“Let me say to you, the Palestinians: We are destined to live together on the same soil, in the same land. We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians. We say to you today in a loud and a clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough. We have no desire for revenge. We harbor no hatred toward you. We, like you, are people; people who want to build a home, to plant a tree, to love, to live side by side with you in dignity, in empathy, as human beings, as free men. We are today giving peace a chance, and saying again to you: Enough. Let us pray that a day will come when we all will say: Farewell to the arms.”
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, said:
“Now as we stand on the threshold of this new historic era, let me address the people of Israel and their leaders, with whom we are meeting today for the first time, and let me assure them that the difficult decision we reached together was one that required great and exceptional courage…. Our people do not consider that exercising the right to self-determination could violate the rights of their neighbors or infringe on their security. Rather, putting an end to their feelings of being wronged and of having suffered an historic injustice is the strongest guarantee to achieve coexistence and openness between our two peoples and future generations. Our two peoples are awaiting today this historic hope, and they want to give peace a real chance.”
Gershon Baskin, former peace negotiator, columnist for both The Jerusalem Post and Al Quds newspapers, and founder of the Israeli-Palestinian Public Policy Institute:
“We need new leaders who can be statesmen. … listen to the words of Rabin and Arafat. Find the leadership qualities that enable stepping out of the pre-scripted roles and change our history, instead of just falling into this cycle of absurdity.”
Here’s one way to create a new reality:
Resolution of the Israel-Palestine Conflict – Not Rocket Science, by Michael Niemer, PhD
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Martin Rutte
