These past weeks, our peace has been unsettled by stories that stir grief, outrage, and division.

To tell you the truth, I don’t watch TV or read the news. And yet, stories still reach me — often through social media posts. But by the time they arrive, they’re rarely just about what happened. Instead, they carry the lens of someone else’s beliefs, emotions, and judgments. What I end up seeing is not the event itself, but the reaction it provokes.

That’s how I first heard of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who fled war in search of peace — only to meet violence on a Charlotte train. And before I even had a moment to reflect on what I had observed and felt, another event filled the headlines: Charlie Kirk, assassinated in Utah. All this, coming on the heels of September 11, stirring old wounds of terror and grief.

I wanted to hold space for grief and compassion — for the life lost, and for those grieving their loved ones. But what I saw instead was a pull into the vortex of anger and judgment. And I could feel how easily grief can be twisted into division.

“If Irina were African-American and her murderer was white, all channels and newspapers would be blasting about it...”
“But because she is white, her story ‘does not serve the narrative.’”

“Charlie Kirk was a horrible human and deserved what he got...”
“Charlie Kirk was an inspiration standing for our values...”

And then came the blame.

And it struck me. Because it was almost as if I had heard these words before.

Words that felt etched into my DNA: lifetimes of persecution, scapegoating, and running. Crusades. Inquisition. Pogroms. Holocaust. All started with words.

I am the child born from something that refused to die. With a Co-Mission to make a difference, fiercely believing that Peace is truly our potential. That’s why i'MAGiNT LiFE was created.

And I couldn’t help but notice — all this violence, anger, division, war... it’s not just “out there.” It lives in each of us.

I had to be honest with myself:
Have I experienced anger, upset, resentment?
Have I pointed a finger and blamed someone for my pain?
Did I believe it was someone else’s fault?
Did I act on it?
Did that contribute to peace and unity, or did it create more division?
Have I ever felt that same pain, even when there was no one to blame?
Have I judged myself?
Have I ever been at war within?

These are rhetorical questions. We all know the answers.

So if it were true that killing the “bad guy” would end our problems, then we wouldn’t still be having these problems.

But the fact that cycles of violence keep reemerging shows us one thing:
The problem isn’t out there with others.
It lives in the parts of us we haven’t yet healed.

If we truly want Peace... we must become it.

You may say, “yeah, sure, nice try! Stop preaching and tell me how I could do it.” And I hear you, and that’s why I wanted to share with you something that one of our i’MAGiNTeers, Natika Terrell, shared in her FB post:

"Another reason I am in love with i’MAGiNT LiFE……especially in a time like now where we are time of quarrel.

Doing this program has been eye opening especially when it comes to seeing everyone’s beliefs over the past few days following the recent events that have happened. Everyone’s arguing “HE WAS GOOD, BAD, A HERO, AN EVIL MAN!!”

Well first things first, believe it or not, there’s truly no such thing as “GOOD” or “BAD”. We as human beings put the judgement behind whether something is good or bad when reality it’s neutral. We put in the judgement based off of our own beliefs, experiences, judgements and criticisms and a lot of these are formed by age 7.

When we really do the work to see if these beliefs still serve us or not, we begin to see more of the picture therefore opening up more opportunities to make different choices and decisions. I’m literally learning about this in i’MAGiNT Life as we speak. We are often so closed minded due to our own belief systems that we miss a lot of what’s going on around us.

So we are not really seeing reality. We are seeing things through the lens of all those I just mentioned even the lens of trauma. So if we only see hurt and hate and racism, our mind will validate that. But if we see joy, love and unity, guess what our mind will validate that too.

As I continue to do this program and see more and more of what it talks about, I feel equipped to be able to step out of my own belief systems, judgements, and criticisms and see more of the big picture. Not only bringing me closer to God (I AM) but closer to my highest self and then I can be not just a spiritual conduit but a conduit of love, faith, harmony, peace and more. I work on deepening my understanding, thereby opening up my views and beliefs so that I can be an instrument for the divine. This is powerful fucking work!!! In my opinion, the true work. Not just spiritual bypassing but really diving into healing and becoming my highest self.

This is how we change the world.
This is how we create a better new world.
This is how we stop the hate, the fear, the negativity.

Because how do we create a world in love by becoming the very thing we hate?"

I read her words, and they made me weep. She gave such eloquent voice to the Essence of how, in i’MAGiNT LiFE, we are living Peace from the inside out.

Natika captured the Essence of i’MAGiNTs: becoming an instrument of Love, Trust, Harmony, Understanding...Peace.
This is not theory. It is practice. It is a journey.

And it is the very path I will soon invite you to walk with me in a 45-day experience called the 9 Keys to the Kingdom of Peace.

Soon, I will share more. But for now, I leave you with the prayer that inspired this path:

"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow Love;
Where there is injury, Pardon;
Where there is doubt, Faith;
Where there is despair, Hope;
Where there is darkness, Light;
Where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

--St. Francis of Assisi

In Wisdom, Love, and Truth,
SoFeya SahRa Joseph
Mother of i’MAGiNT LiFE™