This is http://www.essayz.com/a8803031.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %ACCEPTANCE OF VULNERABLE SECURITY 880303 Real security cannot be enjoyed until it is accepted as real security. Real security is the freedom to be vulnerable in open and honest relationships, but when such freedom is rejected as an unacceptable kind of human relationship, such freedom can not be enjoyed. That which is unacceptable to a person because of the person's ideals and values, cannot be enjoyed. People who are temperamentally and ideologically committed to the defensive achievement of invulnerability as the essence of security, are unable to accept real security when it is offered as a gift. According to their ideological and temperamental perspective of reality, security can not be accepted as a gift, it must be achieved. To them vulnerability and security are logically incompatible; accepting gifts is risky business, especially accepting gifts from your enemy. To accept the gift of security from your enemy is unthinkable! When you cannot trust your enemy, you cannot accept the gift of security from your enemy; but, neither can you achieve security in the face of your enemy's efforts to achieve security in the face of your efforts to achieve security. People's efforts to achieve security cause them to withhold the gift of security from each other, and so makes it impossible to enjoy security through the acceptance of each other and their gift of security. People cannot enjoy security until they accept the ideal of accepting acceptance-of-the-gift-of security as an integrative ideal. The ideal of accepting acceptance is not acceptable, until it becomes clear that the ideal of achieving security is misleading; leading to disintegration rather than to integration. Whether we enjoy security, peace and human integrity depends upon our beliefs, ideals, values, and conceptions of what human relationships are worthy of respect and acceptance. If we believe in achieving peace through virtuous and concerted defensive efforts, we will not enjoy peace. If we believe that others cannot be trusted, we will not enjoy the security which they might give us in intimate friendly dialogue. Compulsive distrust breeds violence, not peace. Compulsive efforts to achieve peace through manipulative efforts breed violence, not peace. To promote peace we should be and appear trustworthy; to help our enemies feel free to trust us, and accept our offerings of gifts of security. We cannot be trustworthy and appear trustworthy, while we are being defensive and distrustful. We cannot be trustworthy and appear trustworthy, while we are trying to manipulate others into being peaceful. We do not trust people who try to manipulate others. We cannot expect others to trust us while we are trying to manipulate them. Peacemakers are not manipulators of human relationships. Peace making is not a technology; it is not the solving of technical problems. Peace making has to do with recognizing, accepting, and realizing integrative ideals, values and goals. We cannot willingly accept integrative ideals, values and goals while we compulsively cling to disintegrative ideals, value and goals. If we do not clearly see the disintegration which our present ideals, value and goals are leading us to experience, we cannot clearly see more integrative alternatives. While we are confused by our ideals, values and goals we cannot be successful in the use of our technologies, no matter how powerful our technologies may be. Technologies cannot lead us to integrative ideals, values and goals. Technologies are the servants of ideals, values and goals; not guides to integration. When we find our personalities and communities disintegrating we do not need more technical power; we need more insight and more integrative ideals, goals and values. Distrust, suspicion, insecurity, fear and being defensive lead to personal and communal disintegration. No technology can halt the tide of personal and communal disintegration, no matter how powerful the technology may be. Inappropriately led technologies tend to be destructive. The more powerful and inappropriately led technology is, the more destructive it is likely to be. It is appropriate leadership which is needed, not more power. Misled power is destructive no matter how sophisticated it may be. The way to peace is the key to peace. We need to find the way. The way to peace is through the transformation of our beliefs, ideals, values and goals. Our misleading ideals blind us and keep us from recognizing the way to peace. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================