Peace, Man

So the morning opened with a dazzling ray of sun. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Close to tears over tea. That man still gets me. Having studied the insanity of slavery in my Literature degree at Leeds, the oppression and pain of the African-American existence; I saw his election victory as an explosion of hope. He continues to inspire me.

By mid-morning the talk-shows and blogs and opinion pages were roaring across the country. The international community had made its point - but internally, the land of the free was a mass of opposing voices. "Yeah. but he's done nothing" being the resounding Conservative line.

All this focus on action. As my Buddhist teacher Gen Kelsang Tonglam constantly reminds me: mind creates everything. It's our intentions that shape our future. If we come from a good intention, of kindness and compassion: our actions will carry that purity forward. If we come from anger or delusions, then we're creating a load of bad karma for ourselves and others in the future.

Fear. I think that's what it boils down to. We are scared to believe these days. We have become so critical, that even when we see a brilliant being in our midst, all we see are our own projected fears playing out. Well, I think that the Nobel Committee made a profound point today. They reminded us all that it's not only about what we do: it's what we're thinking that makes the difference.