The first part of this article, titled "Blueprint to peace," was presented in the preceding section, where we explored the foundational concepts of peace, faith, and the societal forces shaping our present understanding of humanity's path.

The foundation of peace: goodness

The nature of goodness rejects sinister agendas, ulterior motives, expectations, emptiness, fraudulence, deceptions, quid pro quos, betrayals, bad speech, favouritism, cruelty, and any quality or characteristic where a feeling of doubt surfaces and alerts the senses of a wrongdoing. At birth, we are innocent of wrongdoings. Unaware of the egotistical desires pertaining to going against the nature of good. Those unnatural wants of force. For the purposes of dominance, corruption, the spreading of falsehood, and creating disharmony through the exacting of chaos. The nature of goodness is benevolence without exception, acts of kindness with respect to the sensibilities of others. It takes the form of supporting those who send an invitation to enter their space. It takes the shape of acting, behaving, and promoting the good over the evil. First, towards the self. Once the practice becomes second nature, there is a wilful inclination to share it with those you consider close.

They may include family members, friendships, lovers. After mastering the good on the self and those closest to you, the opportunity to spread goodness reveals itself in your surroundings and is, for the most part, accepted. They may include colleagues, acquaintances, complete strangers. The practice of goodness is foreign, inconsistent, and diminishing. Whereby suspicion is the first reaction towards an act of goodness. An automated response of “thank you” is laced with a tone in the form of an unverbalised question: “why?” An attempt to decipher and examine the motives, intentions, and potential scams behind the unpredictable benevolent behaviour. In a matter of seconds, the mind crunches all potential scenarios based on previous unfortunate experiences.

Generating outcomes ranging from inconvenience to doomsday. Relief appears once the interaction presents no agenda. And yet, the thought of acting good nestles in the mind. And the motor resumes interpreting that feeling. The spontaneity of a mysterious act of kindness free in the most absolute sense. Whereby the will to pay the goodness forward is now an option. How we behave impacts you, those you want to love, and those you must live amongst. The options are present. To act good, to not, or to be indifferent. The freedom to choose is yours. Allow the self to lean towards the good and you will find the support, the patience, the goodness with others. And you will see change in your surroundings, a strengthening in your resolve, a joy when the quiet invades you, serenity in the mire of pressures, a perseverance in the face of hardships.

A change of attitude within yourself and how others will choose to treat you. A different mindset calibrated to perfect the practice of goodness. The ethos of goodness comes from the willingness to neutralize the harshness of evil. It isn’t to eliminate but to render it pliable in recognising the might of the good. An acknowledgment that the contrast and division is binary in its most absolute sense. But that there exists nuance within. Within the framework of evil, goodness is present and within the sphere goodness evil lurks. Absolute Evil or Absolute Good doesn’t exist in permanence. However, the inclination to lean heavily towards being good or evil is practiced and therefore a proponent of free will. The will to allow the ego to direct the self and the option to neutralize the ego’s pull. Our modern landscape is littered with triggers that the ego finds insatiable. Whereby the counter-productive conception of “feeling good” supersedes the want to act out of goodness.

The distinction lies in the first reaction. Should a person be faced with the furore and spit of bad speech, cruel intent, and devious acts, the ego’s instinct is to protect itself by reciprocating the toxicity. Displaying the power of its harshness and the magnitude of its ferocity. Such an interaction is destructive and non-sensical. The premise of wanting to “feel good” for the purposes of dominating the opposing ego s is absurd, fruitless, and stunted. This methodology of engaging in the construction of chaos is prevalent in society. Because of the urgent desire to return to the comforts and the pleasures that make the ego satisfied. Objectively, the whole process is rooted and sourced by the antithesis of goodness. And accepted due a lack of accountability. This agreement to validate the existence of such a method gives evil the oxygen to procreate within humanity and spread this infection across cultures. Breeding animosity, fostering distrust, and acting with hostility.

Thus, rendering goodness foreign and suffocating the presence of peace. Weakening the ego’s grip on the self’s steering wheel would calibrate the first reaction. Sedating the adversarial ego in a neutral state and inviting the self to reclaim control of the wheel. A practice already applied in little pockets within society. The legitimacy of goodness is through the will to be adamant about its importance and consistent in delivery. To generate enough influence. For goodness to be the most attractive quality in humanity. The road to peace won’t appear if there is a failure to cement and solidify this foundation.

The practice of goodness: clear communication

The way communication is transmitted and received is regressing in quality. The bought middle class’s cadence, word choice, and tone, are representations of their conformist nature. A uniformed discourse drenched in superficiality and limited to topics stemming from the 3 Fs. The shallowness is evident in the framework. Instructing each other to consume the latest releases from streaming networks, enquiring if they’ve participated in the freshest social media trends, and suffocating the air with obvious notifications. They speak as though they are billboards. All marketing products and services related to their unrequired comforts.

There isn’t a will to go beyond the confines of the set parameters. Partly because there is an egotistical desire to be liked, a laziness in thought, and a lack of confidence. The combination of the framework and methodology has led to the downfall of accuracy in speech and the rise in confusion. Clarity clears confusion. Clarity broadens the mind. Clarity invites those to understand what the soul is articulating. We have arrived at a perpetual state of fog where common sense is evaporating into the mist. Naturally, misunderstandings occur more and more frequently.

Hate speech is widespread, vulgarity is condoned, and the plague of platitudes is contagious. The adoption of accurate speech is one of several components belonging to good speech. It is evident to recognize it. Good speech is undeniable in attracting the heart, unquestionable in grasping the mind, and unforgiving in the dismantlement of hypocrisy. It softens the aggressors, calms the anxious, and builds a bridge of dialogue. It is justified power. There is no weakness in good speech. It takes bravery to apply it constantly in the throes of those desiring to keep good speakers in a limited space.

The battle is worth the hardship. Even when defeat is experienced during a solitary interaction, there will be more opportunities to endure the bitterness of rotten tongues in the hope of eventually tasting and sharing the sweetness of the mend. To break the cycle of disinformation, corruption, and ignorance. Replacing it with a construction where clarity is the only song spoken. It is imperative to clearly communicate because a gift awaits. One that helps to answer the burdening question gnawing at the collective’s existence. One that widens the doors of possibilities once thought of as utopic. One that offers a true comfort.

The gift of clear communication: understanding

We are uniquely designed. The scientific evidence is in the fingerprints. But given the layered individual upbringings, the diverse surroundings, and the varied experiences, it’s natural that we are unable to understand each other fully. The complexity ranges on a spectrum. At the lowest end, determining the universal nature of the conformists. To the highest, identifying the vastness of the independent thinkers in their multitude landscapes. In the face of such a task, comprehension appears overwhelming. Almost inviting us all to forgo any attempt to understand anyone beyond the schemata we’ve developed. For most, our experiences in our pursuit of understanding are categorised within standard parameters.

Those of gender, nationality, occupation, and race. The four mainstream categories are how people choose to understand someone without getting to know them. People are willing to generalise and draw assumptions under the capitalist spirit of saving time. The urgency to label is based out of an insecurity. To cushion the smack of unpredictability. Purely for the purposes of self-preservation. A fear-based method designed to shield. Identity discrimination, being true to its nature, breeds animosity. Attacking the periphery where the sphere of understanding can expand. It is common practice. Accepted and, generally, harmless. Limited and simple desiring no motion to establish a truer understanding. For there to be a mutual understanding, there needs to be an agreement.

To define the expanse of the boundaries. How large and wide that mutual understanding is depends on the fundamentals of communication. That of listening, reflecting, constructing, and clear transmission. All are essential in establishing a dialogue that maintains interest, increases engagement, and strengthens the connection. The higher the connection frequency the richer the understanding. Where the ultimate objective should be to participate in emotional intimacy. Interpreting how they think, acknowledging what they value, accepting their foibles, recognising their journey, and appreciating their vulnerability.

To be naked without shame. To be open without judgment. To be secure and not cheated. To be free and not blocked. To invite and not deny. While the sphere of mutual understanding is derived from past experiences and setting up gender, nationality, occupation, and race templates, the end game is to accept your authentic self. To liberate your identity from the stream of conformity, achieve self-awareness, and be comfortable in accepting your true being. To be constant in being real. Regardless of the desires of the ego, the wickedness of disappointments, the fear of isolation, and the hardships testing your resolve.

The demeanour of understanding: authenticity

Our societal landscape is directed to embrace the artificial. To accept the plasticity of our surroundings, the superficiality of our relationships, the fruitless interactions, the fakers, the scammers, the hypocrites, and the liars. It’s an acceptance due to a widespread lack of accountability. Which is why “fake news” is an automation in our discourse. It’s the reason there’s anger over the obvious spread of disinformation from mainstream media and supported by social media. The abundance of furore towards the Untouchable Elite as they perpetually and shamelessly lie to the people they represent with causal ease. They don’t practice authenticity because they cannot profit from being real. Their intentions and motivations are real but sinister.

They desire to remain in power by draining the resources of the planet, heavily taxing the middle class and poor, and allocating those resources and finances to dictate the flow with their collective agenda. They preach democracy, although the values aren’t practiced. We are never too distant from a rigged election or a dictatorship playing democracy dress up. Their incessant inculcation that they fight for freedom while doxing, jailing, and cancelling those who voice dissent. They have the audacity to advertise equality when they have zero interest in establishing a socio-economic balance. Their ideology stresses meritocracy, and yet incompetence embodies governments and big businesses. Again, it’s an agenda that serves solely their benefit of remaining at the top of this hierarchy. And the middle class and poor brew in this toxic attitude.

It’s reflective in the undesired landscape. Festered with fraud. The middle class adopts these destructive values because these are the game settings. We are living in the Untouchable Elites’ playground of lies. Decorated with artificial grass and fake plastic trees. Yet, we have the awareness that the natural once was present and preferred. We favour the natural landscape, the classic beauty, the practice of being real. Reality energizes the spirit, whether delivered harshly or presented in tranquillity. This revitalisation is a constructive motion. No longer sinking into an abyss or going around in circles in dizzying frustration. The desire for elevation is spurred by independent thought and implemented with the will to act.

All the decisions are conscious. In every circumstance or interaction, you exercise the free will to be authentic or artificial, to be honest or deceitful, to be real or fake. To be true to yourself or to live a lie. To be genuine or to be superficial. There is no grey area in this binary playground. To be real or not real, this is your only option. And whatever choice you decide to select, it is imperative to remain consistent. Consistency attracts those who fear the unknown variable. The more consistent an individual, the more predictable they become. The more people are at ease with them. And ultimately, offer their willingness to trust that individual’s authenticity. Whether approved or not. Whether you like them or despise them. Presently, you will accept their hypocrisy because it is consistent and abundant. And doubt those who are open and straightforward in their words and actions, for it has become an anomaly.

The cultivation of authenticity: trust

Trust is the Everest upon Everest of challenges to reclaiming our faith in humanity. There is no motion, no will, no drive to pursue without trust. Remaining glued to the fabric of our unrequired comforts and sinking as time hikes ahead. Choosing to dwell in a state of paranoia and believing that no one will be there. Not a single friend to jump into the hole you find yourselves in. A hole too steep to climb out on your own. A most uncomfortable and darkened place void of hope. Yet, we call out for it. We want to be heard, to be understood, to be treated well, to express our truest selves. Because we seek to be trusted. It’s the combination and consistent practice of goodness, clear communication, understanding, and authenticity that invites everyone to think about trusting you. Rather than dismissing the idea entirely. Never giving you a second thought.

Another chance for redemption, for atonement, to be worthy of respite. The unfortunates are designated as unwarranted. So little chances are given in this fragile climate. A populous on edge, highly strung, and deeply sensitive. So much so that the invitation to trust is demolished by callousness. The putrid, grotesque, and venomous evil shielding the self out of fear of being duped. It’s a common reflex reaction. Developed through an abandonment of hope and experiences too bitter. That the sweetness of the mend will never appear. And so, deep buried in the hole of our consciousness, under the waste, surviving under the puke and puss, there’s that wish for a seed of hope. That wish is presented through the reminders.

Perhaps a nostalgic memory triggered through the senses. A touch, a taste, a sound, a sight, a scent that cultivates the concept of hope. Where we recall a time where trust was a given. In retrospect, being a delusionary delight where our ignorance of an impending doom never surfaced the spirit, never conjured in the imagination, never convened to plot and pop the wholesome bubble. A period in life where it was natural to give the benefit of the doubt. It’s our collective responsibility to reclaim those times. To fend off the evil and usher it to be neutral. To extinguish the rage and caress it into calmness. To fight. For the effort and work to practice goodness, clear communication, understanding, and authenticity. For the promise of paving a path to the great unknown.

For hope to rediscover the love in our collective humanity. And create the undeniable within the self. To be undeniably just in the face of corruption. Even when the pursuit is at its most difficult, we want to place our trust in those who will be consistent in their values, principles, morals, ethics, and beliefs. Through trust we practice being just.

The emergence of trust: justice

The corrupt roam in luxury. Spreading falsehoods to cause division. To concoct animosity and infect the well-being. To shatter spirits for the pleasure of basking in chaos. To pulverise the good out of souls. Their delight in force has awoken the cries of justice seekers. Let us raise our heads from this golden slumber of unrequired comforts and witness the carnage in the surroundings. Let me serve you a reminder. The wars, the genocides, the assassinations, the murders, the falsely imprisoned, the cancelled, the doxxed, the shamed, and every injustice perpetrated are all around.

Let us turn to the leaders. Those whose eloquent speech isn’t purchased. Those trusted voices silenced. Those who march to fight with their lives to exist. Those who have nothing to lose and are clear in heart and mind. To stand up and hold accountable the Untouchable Elite. With numbers, they stand as a collective to generate influence for justice to be practiced. Even though the judicial practice is suspect. Rarely are the masterminds of chaos tried and convicted. The puppet masters designate the expendables from their army of Elites. To fall on the sword for their greater evil practices. As you might sense, that road is rarely taken. A last resort since a more favourable route is bought. By means of purchasing officers of the court, lawmakers, policy framers, and all the cogs that form a mechanism to ensure their status in the hierarchy.

It’s embarrassingly obvious. The lack of will from the doers, actioners, and practitioners comforts the Untouchable Elite. It is, simply put, a numbers game. Not that there isn’t a majority in favour of establishing accurate justice. People are bound, in one ideology or another, to pursue justice as a duty owed to themselves and who they serve. The issue is the lack of trusted leaders. They are being exterminated. And so when the silence erases them, it envelops everyone. The will disappears, the motivation is dead, and there is an abundance of paranoia. We don’t trust anyone to lead us in the fight to eradicate the injustices flooding our streets. To not be bought by the mechanism. To be ferocious without hesitation. To want to identify the root cause of the malicious intent. To charge the demonic practices with their intent to perpetuate a fraud on humanity. To spare the world another cement block of frustration on their fragile architectural structure. To deliver hope, reclaim faith in one another, and put an end to corruption and falsehood. To lead us to the truth.

The accountability of justice: truth

May we all find truth wherever it resides. In the sunshine, nourishing a land now a landfill of excess mess. In the vessels that transport sleeping souls. That plague the tortured and abandoned. That are manufactured to represent reality when they are illusionary. In the scattering of the displaced. Who find no solace no matter the pillows where they lay their heads. Who are cornered to be shamed and converted. Treated as foreign because they draw breath from a manic tongue. Because they walk in a perceived threatening skin tone. Or because of a deeply delusional insecurity that these unknowns want to annex and claim what the familiar hold dear: a life sprinkled in irrational fears. As opposed to backpacking with real ones targeting the obliteration of their existence.

The truth is not all doom. Admittedly, it is rarely expressed in society. Except with the preamble of “not going to lie,” or “to be honest with you,” and even the disclaimer when someone prepares you that their honesty is about to be “brutal.” The truth exists in attics. Stored deep and cluttered under mounts of forged collectibles. Not going to lie, I really meant to type bullshit. Somehow “forged collectibles” seemed “proper.” To be brutally honest with you, everyone can handle the truth. Should you be incapable, extend a merciful hand. Provide a meditative cushion for them to relax, reflect, and breathe. Allow them to exist and explore. To find the light switch to discover an illumination. That the truth is not an enemy. Not a distortion mutating reality.

The truth delivers grief, sorrow, pain, and shame in landscapes where justice is dead. And yet, there is a nostalgic call to revive the truth. For it to calibrate your will to understand how to be good. To remind your spirit to be authentic. For your speech to be confident and trustworthy. To shed the burden of anchoring your vessel. May you find freedom by detaching from this landscape. To recognise but not subscribe to its flow. To honour those who walked before you in search of the truth. And to invite everyone to walk beside you. In your quest to give truth permanence.

The truth is the best of invitations. Already sent out and written while we are in the womb. It remains your decision, your free will, and your motion to accept attending the Home of Peace. This residency is an undeniable truth. It is a pure promise. A carrot dangling in front of our donkey eyes but very much attainable. Let us plant the seeds of truth again. Cultivate it in this wasteland. Let us sweep the toxicity. Submerge it until suffocated. Let us build, create, and remind each other we are beholden to the truth. It is a duty that we owe to ourselves, our close ones, our community, district, city, country, region, continent, and planet. Once the truth fills the atmosphere, respect will reign.

The instillation of truth: respect

We are bestowed privileges fundamental to our existence. Accorded spaces to sleep, reside, roam, visit, and experience. Offered blessings in the form of aromatic, tactile, visual, oral and oratory stimulation. Inviting emotional provocation, engaging interactions, and motivational pushes. The will to fall and rise, to climb and dive, to measure pace, to reflect and ponder the unknown. To reach for the unattainable, to pursue wants and desires, to explore the uncharted, and rejoice in newfound discoveries. To simply bask in relief. To breathe in the comfort that the self is respected. Without self-respect, we are for sale. Placing a sign in the landscape of our soul that are values, principles, ethics, and morals have a price.

That we can be bought and therefore pulled towards a flow that evokes feelings of frustration, self-loathing, confusion, and disgust. A metamorphosis from being to commodity. Where we become brands and therefore treated with disregard. Where it is no longer personal but business. And we are constrained in a prism that goes against the nature of humanity. Thus, respect becomes a potentiality rather than a given. Arduous to obtain as opposed to reluctant to strip. In the present social landscape, we have accepted the ugliness from the corrupt, the grotesque behaviours from the spreaders of falsehood, and the scummy nature from the victims of this disposition because “it is what it is.” The absence of kindness, the failures to articulate an understanding, and the adoption of artificiality have smothered the efforts to trust, act justly, and reverberate the truth.

So, we find ourselves surrounded by those angered by the “disses.” The disillusion, discomforts, and disrespect have become disengaged and distant in mind, heart, soul, and sense. Should we have the means to afford an escape from this landscape and retreat away from the volatility, we will be flooded with reminders. A profound reflection will consume our senses and recall that it is a gift and a pleasure to exist and experience life. The ability to know how to breathe. To acknowledge that we were created to pursue the love of knowledge. To understand and deeply appreciate that Earth is meant to be our impermanent home. That we are visitors on this planet and owe it the respect it has never denied us.

It is illogical to destroy who we are, obliterate where we live, and prevent ourselves from reaching the destination we seek. There is no natural animosity amongst us. Which is precisely why we owe it to our existence to forgive ourselves. For letting go of the rope that uncaged chaos. For not holding evil consistently accountable. For abandoning our morals and ethics in difficult situations and moments. Let us return, after we have forgiven, to our natural disposition of respect. Beginning with ourselves and eventually influencing all that surrounds us. It is in that calibrated state of mind where organic respect can permit love to filter freely without remorse.

The nurturing of respect: love

Love lives in streams where respect flows. Forever swirling in the tides of appreciation. No matter the intensity of the current, we recognise it is abundantly present. We feel its absence when polluted. When the waters are infected by betrayals, superficiality, and the foundation of goodness are cracked then collapsed. Yet the hope to love remains intact. A desire to kindle sparks whether plutonic or profound. Whether intensely or casually, navigating through the easy days and the most difficult ones. Our capacity to love may differ but the willingness to deliver and absorb is undeniably natural. The shape of love is amorphous.

A chameleon who is an optical enlightenment. A harmony of sonar pleasure. An intoxicating fragrance awakening the mind. A sweet delight on the inviting tongue. A soft caress birthing goosebumps on the sensitive skin. The senses vibrate. Love penetrates our chest and gushes. A calming tingle relaxing the vessel. Sedating the mind to rest in a deep and natural comfort. Love is our preferred companion. Our favourite friend who will not hesitate to dive in when we are trapped. This true partner appears in the eyes. Where the soul wants you to witness love’s splendour and transmit an invitation. To love it back unconditionally. No matter how long you permit it to last. Love is the simple act of goodness articulated clearly.

Love wants you to understand that it is real. Wants you to trust it will be just, truthful, and respectful. It is all we require to face the hardships. It is the sweetest of mends. It is the most prized natural fundamental. Let us expand the sphere beyond the self and help it reach out to our close ones. And continue to grow it where it finds a soul you have never encountered before. And assure the unfamiliar soul that the love is free from pollution. Detached from desperation. That it only serves with the intent to ameliorate the wellbeing of all who accept it in the heart. Once love is all around, the footpath to peace is revealed.

An invitation to take a welcoming hand from a person that doesn’t share any attributes of your physical appearance. Not your skin tone, gender, and body structure. But is smiling from their eyes and mouth with all their heart. They will hold on to your hand and show you how easy it is to love you. They will walk beside you in the urban landscape where nature still breathes. Holding that smile with ease in their lips and in the reflection of their soul. And you will realize that this person, who is eternally happy to be with you, has been you all along.

The blossoming of love: peace

Credibility lives in the known. The patterns presented by historical experiences. The facts derived from scientific experiments. The truth from Allah’s manuscripts. The evidences, proofs, signs, lessons are still despite time’s motion. We are created with everything at our disposal. Whether visible or not. Whether tangible or not. Whether palatable or not. Whether audible or not. Whether odorous or not. Even if we don’t know, we can conceptualise what a panda cake looks like, feels like, tastes like, sounds like and smells like. The degree of accuracy might not be at an ultimate certainty.

But I would use my imagination and present it to those who would entertain this unknown. Should the feedback be constructive, there would be a collective will to build on the foundation. And after the ping-ponging of ideas, bouncing creativity off each other, we would conclude that a panda cake takes the form of a giant panda. In traditional black and white colouring on the outside. But once sliced, the interior has purple, blue, yellow colouring filled with white chocolate stars.

Creating a visual delight. It would be fluffy on the tongue. A fragrance transporting us to the nostalgia of our inner child. And a symphony harmonizing in our mind with every chew. And we would reflect with a rested smile planted on our face, dreaming and wanting that panda cake. Feeling the goodness it would offer our soul. Giving us clarity in our mind. Having a mutual understanding that we want it to be real. Justifying the calorie intake because truthfully it is an artisanal decadence. We would respect the nutritional upside that it is egg-free and the downside that it is incredibly sugary. Yet, love this cake unconditionally. It delivered peace and delight at a time when there was little or none. It is a natural daydream to intellectualise peace.

To wonder what it would be like to experience this great unknown. Too often, there is a pull to be grounded in the actuality. Due to a lack of collective will to explore and establish a path towards peace. It takes disciplined consistency. To hold on to the foundational values and principles that clear the fog. To be at peace and march towards it. A refusal to be bought, a joy to think, a will to converse, a drive to act, and an acceptance that Allah has invited us all to the Home of Peace. This invitation is not an unknown if you wish to have faith. If you truly can see the patterns, evidences, signs, lessons that have been established since the creation of the Universe. If you can hear the words of those who are authentic in their truth.

If you can hear the distant connection within our collective humanity. If you can taste the bitterness from the hardships and pressures suffocating our existence. If you can feel that you’re still and not progressing with the motion of time. Directed to play within the confines of a sandbox that solely wants you to focus on the 3-Fs. The Untouchable Elite want to restrain your motion for peace. Their agenda has always been visible and felt. It contradicts your desire to be powerful and not forceful. To have the freedom to be genuine and not fake. To be just and not corrupt. To be honest and not deceitful. To be united in respect and not be divided with hostility. To love through goodness.

When I rationalize the image of peace, it is still unclear as to how it would resemble. But when I hear the articulation of a soul that has no clue that I even exist, I can visualise it. In the tapping of piano keys, in the strumming of a guitar, and in the vocals of those who pour their soul into those instruments. I see where we are. In the dark, surrounded by the blackness of nature, tripping over branches. Yet, I pick myself up and walk towards a horizon. Where the colours call to me. A sky of shades of purple, blue and yellow decorated with white stars. An unknown we all desperately want to achieve. To restore our faith in humanity.