Peace is the original state of this universe. It was also the
original state before the world was created. Since the beginning
of time, God alone has been in perfect peace. Millions of years
have passed or millions of millions of years, more than that
even; in fact before time existed and before its dimensions were
known, the original state was peace.
God began to work in peace and His first work was the
Creation. In perfect peace God created everything... "Then
God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God
saw the light, that it was good;" (Gen. 1:3-4).
"Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that
yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its
kind, '; and it was so. ... And God saw that it was." (Gen. 1:11-
12). Thus each stage of the Creation was accomplished in
peace. God created the world and the world lived in peace. As
an example of that there are the heavenly bodies moving in the
celestial sphere, with total precision and order, in total peace,
without any confusion; day followed by night, night followed by
day, without noise and without struggle.
So when did the world begin to lose its peace?
That was after God formed creatures with a mind and
possessing free will.
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These creatures who were endowed with intelligence, spent a
period of calm in which no one quarrelled and no one argued
with anyone else, no one raised any objections and no one
disagreed or rebelled. There was no one who provoked a
problem or disturbance in any form.
Then there was the first loss of peace, for which Satan was to
blame.
Satan lost the peace of his heart from within, when the concept
of pride entered him. (Is. 14:13-14). A desire to be like God
entered his heart, and this desire rendered his whole heart
troubled thus he lost his calmness. Not content with that,
though, he in fact led a rebellion in heaven and brought down
with him angels of various ranks. A result of the free will which
he had misused.
Satan and his angels were banished from heaven and heaven
became peaceful.
As far as human beings were concerned, Adam lived first of all
in peace, while he was in the Garden of Eden. Even the wild
beasts lived with him in peace, there was no enmity or strife
between them. They did not kill him as their prey or attack him
and he did not hunt or pursue them. He did not fear them, but
rather a bond of harmony and peaceful coexistence united
them. The same situation occurred with the wild beasts and
creatures which were with our father Noah in the Ark.
Predatory animals were not predatory in Adam's time. Hunting
for prey had not yet entered the world since the world still
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retained its peace. The wild creatures at that time used to eat
grass (Gen.. 1: 29), they did not hunt down animals that were
weaker than themselves or prey upon a creature of a different
species such as Adam. There was not that 'wildness' in them
which was to earn them the name of wild beasts. They were
peaceful, and so was man.
The amazing thing is that man lost his peace while he was still in
the Garden of Eden, which happened after he sinned.
When he sinned he was afraid, and he hid behind the trees.
When he sinned he felt ashamed of his nakedness and sewed fig
leaves together to cover himself. And God banished Adam and
Eve from Paradise.
Then there was the sin of Cain when he lost the peace of his
heart because of his envy of his brother Abel. His inner feelings
developed to the point that he, "rose up against Abel his
brother and killed him." (Gen.. 4:8).
When Cain killed his brother he lost his peacefulness forever,
and he lived as a restless wanderer and a fugitive on earth,
afraid of God and of people. (Gen. 4:12-14). The psychological
disorders of fear, anxiety and confusion began to disturb him
deeply. He was the first to exhibit these disorders and the one
who introduced them into human nature. Cain's fear of God
was surpassed by his fear of people, and his bitter cry was: "My
punishment is greater than I can bear! ... anyone who finds me
will kill me"(Gen.4:13-14).
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Cain's killing of Abel was the introduction to the wars which
were to sweep over the earth later, and which caused the world
to lose its peacefulness.
Lamech, one of the descendants of Cain, was also a murderer.
And having confessed this to his two wives, he said: "If Cain
shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-
sevenfold."(Gen.4:24)
This is how vengeance was introduced to the earth and the
world was filled with evil and lost its peace. Tyrants and
oppressors populated the earth and God drowned the raging
world with the Flood. And after the Flood, there was Nimrod
who "he began to be a mighty one on the earth." (Gen.10:8).
After the Tower of Babel, the peoples on earth became
dispersed and struggles broke out between the nations.
(Gen.11:9). Human nature became corrupt and lost its peace,
which was encouraged by the rivalry and contention between
people. Eventually, on account of the quarrelling of the
shepherds for grazing land, we hear in connection with two
righteous men, Abram and Lot that, "Now the land was not able
to support them, that they might dwell together." (Gen. 13:6).
It is a tragic story, in which man was changed from the depths
of peacefulness to restlessness.
Therefore what is calmness? What are its elements? What are
its effects? What are the virtues that are linked with calmness
and which are lost with its loss? How can man obtain peace
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and remain in it? These and other things are what we wish to
deal with in this little book.
The Elements of Calmness
Calmness has to involve the human being's whole life: inwardly
and outwardly; what is apparent and what is hidden. Thus it
must include:
1.
Inner calmness: which is made up of tranquillity of the
mind, serenity of the heart and calmness of the thoughts.
2.
Calmness of the body: which consists of the stillness of
the senses and calmness of movement.
3.
Calmness of the nerves: which consists of the serenity
of the features and the spirit of
cheerfulness.
4.
Calmness of speech: which also includes calmness of
the voice.
5.
Calmness of behaviour: which consists of a serenity in
practical matters of life and in private
behaviour, and a
calm approach to solving any problem which the individual
might meet.
There are other things which are connected to all these kinds of
calmness, which are:
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a.
Peace of nature, a peaceful environment and quiet place
in which to live.
b.
Virtues associated with calmness
c.
Nature of calmness: is it true peace or just a superficial
or temporary calm, or the calmness of
inexperience?
d.
Practical examples of true calmness.
True Calmness
1.
We cannot judge whether a person is calm or not until
his calmness has been tested.
A person may appear calm, because the external conditions
which surround him are calm. No problem or provocation has
yet occurred to put his calmness to the test. Though if you
clash with him he will probably show his real self, and show
whether he is calm or not.
It is only when one person clashes with another over a matter of
opinion or behaviour, or when insult or injury befalls him or he
is faced with hurtful words that, according to how he behaves,
he can be judged as to his calmness.
It is the same situation if he falls into a problem or into
adversity, or becomes ill or faces some difficulty. All of these
could be a test for his disposition and his nerves. How does he
behave, how does he react? Does he lose his calmness, or does
he endure and solve the problem calmly?
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This is the first test of true calmness. Any person can be calm
when circumstances are calm.
2.
The second test, however, is how long the calmness
lasts. Real calmness is a continuous tranquillity, something like
a characteristic. It is not to be calm for a period of time after
which a person loses that calm and changes its way of holding
out in the face of problems.
True calmness is not just training for endurance for a specific
period of time. It is a tranquil nature which continues in its
calmness however long the time and however the situation
changes.
True peace is not a veil behind which a restless character hides,
only to be brought to light by unexpected events!
The person who is tranquil by nature is not hurt by problems or
clashes, rather the contrary, they show up his compassion, his
gentleness and kindness of heart.
Saint Paul the Apostle lived in difficult surroundings, "in
tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in
imprisonments,... ", nevertheless he said in the introduction to
all this, that it was, "in much patience,". (2 Cor.6:4-5) And he
said, in the spirit of faith, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even
though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is
being renewed day by day. " (2 Cor.4:16). He also referred to
all his problems and hardships by the phrase, "For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment". (2 Cor.4:17).
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3.
True calmness is not external but internal. This calmness
does not only show on the outside whilst a volcano rages
within. On the contrary, a person's internal peace is the source
and origin of his outer calmness. We will speak about this point
in greater detail when we talk about the tranquillity of the heart.
4.
There is a difference between true calmness and
impassiveness, which might well be a kind of coldness that is
meant to provoke.
The calm person, one who loves peace, is not only calm himself,
but tries to make others around him calm to spread peace
around them. But it might sometimes happen that a person with
strong nerves may put up with a fretful friend, replying to him
very calmly or very coolly in a way that actually provokes his
nerves even more, and makes him more agitated. This
increased agitation is then met with even greater calmness and
cold composure on the part of the one with the stronger nerves,
who takes pleasure in provoking his unfortunate friend and
making him an object of criticism in front of those present.
This sort of calmness is not at all what is meant by spiritual
calmness.
The spiritually calm person does not demolish another through
his own calmness. His fretful brother is entrusted in his care.
He is responsible for safeguarding his brother's nerves and
reputation and to lead him to find peacefulness too.
Consequently, he would not provoke his friend because he
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himself is a lover of peace. He wants peace for others just as he
wants it for himself. He does not let the Devil of False Glory
attack him with a 'bogus peace', in which he would provoke his
brother to become his angry and agitated adversary by
maintaining a false, proud, superior calmness at his brother's
expense. Satan would indeed be pleased to see him induce such
an angry and exasperated state in his opponent.
The successful person does not gain spiritual satisfaction from
seeing the downfall of another, but rather, as a result of his own
calmness, spreads peace to all. He meets others calmly,
whether they are for him or against him. If he finds that the
other person is angry, he placates him with a gentle reply and
not one likely to rouse his anger. (Prov. 15:1)
5. The peaceful person may be calm by nature by being born
that way or, his calmness may have been acquired.
The naturally calm person does not make great efforts to arrive
at a state of calmness, because he shuns all that is not peaceful.
As far as acquired calmness is concerned though, this requires
effort and practice and is a subject which we will discuss later,
God willing. Every effort that is made to reach a state of peace
has its own reward.
A person who needs to strive to acquire calmness may attain
such a state gradually. But having attained it, he no longer has
to make such strenuous efforts because at this stage, he will
have become firmly grounded, stable and experienced in the
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life of peace. Thus he retains that which he has acquired by
hard work and of course by the great assistance of God's grace.
Saint Moses the Black is a good example of someone who
acquired calmness through training. He was not born like that,
but in fact he started life as a cruel murderer. Then when he
entered the monastic life, he began to discipline himself in
calmness until he mastered it so well that when he was called
for his ordination as a priest, and the Pope ordered him to be
sent away in order to test him, Saint Moses left quietly, blaming
himself without feeling upset inside. Then, when they allowed
him to return, he went back quietly without hurting his dignity.
In view of this, it was not so strange that one of the saints saw
him in a vision being fed on honeycomb by the angels.
If you are not calm by nature, do not make excuses saying:
"What can I do?! I was just born that way!!
Even if you were born that way, or inherited a lack of calmness
from father or mother, that is no excuse. You can change what
you inherited. Someone who has not obtained natural calmness
can acquire calmness by training himself, and striving hard to
gain it. The qualities which a person is born with are not as a
fixed rule unable to be changed. They are so easily changed if
the good intention exists, accompanied by a sincere
determination, hard work and effort, then the Lord will give you
a new heart, removing from you the heart of stone and give you
a heart of flesh as he promised. (Ezek.36:26)
20 tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/Calmness/index.html
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