In the Economy of Life, the price and sacrifices paid for peace are often more costly than the hardships of strife. Strife’s payment is upfront and clear, while peace takes her payment as you sleep. Wisdom and discernment are required in choosing the proper course in a given time or circumstance.
There is nothing in life without cost. Remember this, lest you wake up bankrupt caught off guard.
On the contrary, the price paid for peace is the right price - no matter how we may choose to look at it. It may appear costly, but in order to fully assimilate and understand strife, we need the time to do so. As for wisdom and discernment, these are necessary whether we are in times of strife or times of peace.
My apologies, Lance, but this statement appears like an extreme appeal to pacifism at all costs, or even a type of escapism. Whether this is what you are saying or not, please clarify and expand what you mean here.
I’m not sure where pacifism or escapism come into the comment my friend. Both viewpoints are, in my opinion, a little unbalanced and denote an opting out from the Wheel of Life for a period of time. Peace, on the other hand, is anything but an opting out, as it requires maintenance, through diligence, discernment, and a willingness to be an active participant as opposed to a passive participant.
Throughout history civilisations have come and gone (a sine wave would be a good visual here). Each civilisation has crawled its way to its respective zenith and then began the painful downward spiral to its destruction, whilst other would-be civilisations claw their way over the carcasses of these old civilisation on their own way to the top - the Romans, British, Germans, French, Dutch, Christianity, Wicca [from the past], and America and Islam today [for example].
The payment for peace and strife is always up front for those actively pursuing either. This has always been the case. For those riding on the tail coats of those actively pursuing either, of course the price is always meted out as they are sleeping - just take a look about you today.
As this brilliant quote states:
By the way, to outright condemn those practising pacifism or escapism is not, in my view, necessarily positive or balanced, for these men and women may very well need to follow either course as a necessary part of their own personal development. To participate in either may be the best way to gain certain experiences. Gain and loss, no matter how you look at it, is very much a part of these paths.
“This path of peace is not the path of progress” Book of Gleanings.
I agree with that Manu. Unless concepts, Idea’s and beliefs are challenged, people don’t grow, if people are not challenged, then their character stagnates, and ceases to progress and mature.
Sometimes it can be very difficult to rise to the challenge, weather that be to fight, or to be humble and accept that change in idea, belief, or character trait that the challenge is confronting.
And it isn’t meant to be, without some work being involved, you wouldn’t grow, or learn.
The path of truth, is an uphill one, but there is help, if one allows oneself to bend a little, or to accept a loving hand, or boot !
I was meaning to compliment Lance’s twist to the pacifism concept in my previous post but ran into some issues with the forum(I need to remember to choose the option to always leave me logged in), I apologize for that. Count this comment as if it was meant to go with my previous post.
And yes Sha’ul this existence as we know it wasn’t designed in the way it is neither randomly, capriciously nor with malice, but as per the Kolbrin’s and the Culdian teachings, it is the way it is because it needs to be precisely that way for the correct development of the soul spirits that incarnate in this dimension. We’re meant to struggle for something that we know may not last for long due to cause and effect laws making people turn complacent when they finally attain the goal and thus falling prey to the same weaknesses of character that create the undesirable state they fought to abandon in the first place. More over we, regardless of the social situation we’re born in, must fight our own inner flaws. There’s a section in the Kolbrin that says that even our enemy fights because he feels he fights for the right cause, just like us; and in fact as long as people fight with the conviction in their hearts that they’re doing the right thing, granted they fight fair, they cannot be criticized, as it’s better to fight for something than to remain apathetic.
“We may visualise our individual goals as we will, it is ordained that we have this freedom. How close or how far we are from reality is of little consequence, what is, is. He who seeks a non-existent destination will, nevertheless, get somewhere. He who seeks not at all will get nowhere. Earthly life fulfils itself without attainment.” Book of Scrolls.
Well said Manu,
Its not supposed to be easy, and now, I begin to read the Book of Morals and Precepts !
May the Supreme Spirit, give me the courage to honestly let the words"get in", and do whatever needs doing, may I honestly face the mirror.
Love and light brother.
Well you do well in asking the Supreme Spirit to give you courage before engaging into reading that particular book as it can very well be tough on men like us who are devoted to the quest for truth and nobility. First time through might be unsettling but you’ll derive much benefit. Keep us posted. 
Yes, do so.
For myself, I found this particular set of writings interesting inasmuch as they reminded me not to try comprehending them from a modern perspective, nor through the perspectives of those time periods, but more to find reconciliation through understanding the greater meanings imparted by the writings, especially as they could well apply again in times to come - with some modifications