The power of mass

Today marks the Walk with Israel, coinciding with Lag B'omer, a time to join together and celebrate Israel's independence, as well as the excitement of a free Jewish state. With locations all over, it was easy to find a place to gather with other Jews and celebrate our homeland.

One of the things that I noticed as I walked was the visual effect that we were demonstrating. This was a group of Jews taking up entire blocks of suburban neighborhoods, filling the streets with people walking together. If any one member of the group had walked alone, the mental effect would have been positive, but it would not have held the same outwardly visible effect as it did when hundreds of people took to the streets to make this bold statement.

As we walked, we also saw motorcyclists driving by with Israeli flags attached to the back of their bikes. This too was valuable because it was a display of solidarity, a proclamation of emotion.

This got me thinking though: What would happen if we all joined together for things more often? It is often almost a cliche to make a facebook group "lets see if we can get X amount of people to join this group," but what if we were joining together for something in particular?

My first thought is peace. It seems to me as though the reason we don't have peace on Earth is because of blame. Everyone blames someone else. He did this, so I'm going to hate him. She did that, so I'm not going to agree with her. One person needs to be able to put aside their feelings of pain and their grudges and move on. If one person finds personal peace, as well as the power to forgive, it can spread. Just as our bad actions can often be contagious, so too can our good actions. Allow this acceptance to grow. Soon, if we all are able to accept each other, and not hold grudges, we can move forward without hurting each other. The only thing standing between us and peace is, well, us.

This may seem like a random idea in connection with the Walk with Israel, but they are very much the same. Just as I saw a march of hundreds of people in just my town parading through the streets, it is the same with the opportunity for peace. If we create peace, and foster it, we can walk around with it, demonstrating the excellence of peaceful interaction. Soon, it will spread as quickly as a wildfire. "Seek peace and pursue it" goes hand in hand with the idea of "once you've found it, shout it from the rooftops and spread it" (nothing quite like making up your own quotes)

So go out, and pursue your own peace. When you find it, encourage it in others. This isn't something that will happen quickly, or all at once. But hey, that's why God put us here. We might as well dedicate our lives to it.