Sometimes in the darkest recesses of the night, lying in my little bunk, many miles away from shore I get an overwhelming sense of peace and happiness. It is usually at a moment when I have stopped thinking and begun listening. To the silence, and what passes beneath the silence.
It is a strange thought that our most blissful moments occur when we put away the stuff of life - thoughts, words and actions. And as years go by - for I am by now a very ancient mariner - I tend to think more and more about the nature of truth. Our personal truth - the wisdom that lies in all of us, the wisdom (and compassion) that flows through us and yearns to be heard and felt.

If you have never experienced this, I urge you to stop reading for a bit and close your eyes. Then think of nothing at all -- takes a bit of getting used to, that. Maybe listen to your breathing, each breath being a fascinating and new event for you to experience. Let thoughts flow away and your truth will emerge. Trust me, I know.

The other aspect of this is the lengths many people go to in avoiding this experience of their authentic selves. Take politicians, for example. Bush, Blair et al. They tell thier lies, twist the truth and use language to paper over atrocity after atrocity. What must it be like for them in the small hours? How desperatley must they struggle against the truths within them, truths which yearn to be heard. I suspect they think constantly. And talk. And 'keep busy' - otherwise they would have to confront themselves. Imagine how disgusted their true selves would be when faced with their shabby antics.

I wonder what would happen if more people listened, really listened to their innate wisdom. Would we have a better world, free from greed? Would we have a world where children don't die for want of basic nutrition, whilst the wealthy nations stockpile (or, worse, dump) millions of tonnes of food each year?

Or is it, as some claim, our nature to be aggressive and ruthless? I do not think so - rather, I believe that the latter are habits. Habits are like rules - they are there to be broken.