The Healthy Spiritual Journey • June 2026: There is a Better Way

“Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.” – Pope Leo XIV

There are moments when we feel compelled to pause, look at the world around us, and ask whether the path humanity is walking is leading us in the right direction. For me, that question has surfaced because we are witnessing the toll that conflict is taking on families, communities, and nations. I love my country, with all of its imperfections, and I hold profound respect for the men and women who serve in our military. Their courage, sacrifice, and willingness to protect others deserve honor. Yet even with that respect, I cannot ignore the quiet conviction within me that there is a better way! 

A few years ago, I attended an anti-war march. When I shared that experience with a group at church, the widow of a Korean War veteran was angry, thinking that I was criticizing her husband’s service. I apologized for any misunderstanding and reassured her immediately that I was grateful for his service. My hope for peace is not a rejection of those who serve: it is a longing for a world where fewer families must endure the pain of loss or disability that war inflicts. That conversation reminded me how critical it is to speak with compassion, clarity, and humility while suggesting that there is a better way. 

Violence, even when justified as necessary, has a way of multiplying itself. The old saying – “Seek revenge and you should dig two graves, one for yourself” – captures a truth many struggle to embrace. Retaliation is instinctive, but it rarely leads to reconciliation. Instead, it deepens wounds and prolongs suffering. Throughout history, many individuals have dared to imagine a different path - people like Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, Sister Teresa, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus of Nazareth. These good people, often labeled as pacifists, did not reject violence because they were naïve or timid. They rejected it because they believed in the extraordinary potential of the human spirit. They believed that courage could be expressed through restraint, and that justice could be pursued without bloodshed. Today, we possess more knowledge than any generation before us. We understand diplomacy, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and logic with unprecedented depth. We have tools for conflict resolution, communication, and cooperation that our ancestors could only dream of. So why do we still reach so quickly for weapons instead of wisdom? Why do we continue to believe that war is inevitable when so many voices – ancient and modern – have shown us that there is a better way?

The spiritual life invites us to imagine possibilities beyond what we see. It calls us to trust that peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of understanding, empathy, and shared humanity. It challenges us to believe that nations, like individuals, can grow, mature, and choose differently. Violence is not the only language strong enough to resolve our differences. There are many better ways! 

In God’s love,

Lanny F. Wilson, MD

“…they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”  – Isaiah 2:4b