A very bizarre question indeed; perhaps it would be more appropriate to wonder, ‘Why do we engage in wars?’ ‘What causes a war?’ ‘When does a war start? Hence, it might sound strange to ask ‘Where’. Wars are everywhere and, relying on human memory, have always been there. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Germans, Indians, Africans, in short, all the peoples of the earth have always waged war against someone to defend themselves, to attack, to revenge for wrongs (actual or presumed) suffered, in essence for all sorts of reasons.
Good, or rather bad, because with these premises, it would seem trivial to answer my question.
‘Where?’ everywhere in the world, for God’s sake, it’s obvious.
Actually, not at all, and this question is the centre, the core, the heart of the problem, which is: ‘Where does war originate?’
It is an uncomfortable, unconventional question because if it is self-evident that war has always been happening, everywhere and for whatever reason, true or artfully constructed as the case may be, it means that this ‘Where’ is to be found elsewhere and if this ‘elsewhere’ is not a geographical place then where is it to be found? Where, precisely, should one look for it?
At this point, excluding the possibility of it being an original geographical place and, therefore, not being traceable to a precise geographical area and, by extension, not being outside our planet, there is only one possibility left, only one place to look for it, not being outside our planet, there is only one possibility left: only one place to look for it.
It is a place that we all know and frequent from time immemorial, yet too often, we prefer to avoid seeing, as it would be so painful and horrible to do so that we would always look elsewhere.
Therefore, this ‘Where?’ is inside each of us. Yes, it is indeed! Let us think about it and ask ourselves if we feel at peace with ourselves, if we feel we are living in a permanent state of inner calmness.
Each of us feels deeply that we have been wronged in some way, wronged by our parents, a brother, a sister, a friend who turned out not to be so, a work colleague, or a superior. Each of us then feels that we have a good reason to resent, retaliate, pay back in kind, and get justice in some way.
Are not these also the causes that justify war to a greater extent? So we find that we live, daily, in a state of permanent war, we are, in short, consistently belligerent and, consequently, we must always be ready to attack or defend ourselves, always in a state of alert.
As an example, it is enough to state that since our society is founded on the primary value of ‘competition’, we must necessarily and constantly live in alarm and thus be ready for war, lest we succumb, of course.
This permanent inner state only needs to be projected to the outside world, the household, the neighbourhood, the country, the nation, and the world. Our inner-armed universe becomes the world at perpetual war in which, after millennia, we continue to live and wage war.
It is neither easy nor simple and even unnatural to get out of what appears to be a dead end or a labyrinth in which we feel lost.
And yet, the first step, however unbelievable or unlikely it may seem, is precisely to become aware and accept that not only are we at war with our parents, relatives and so on, but that this is even more difficult to accept, we are at war with ourselves.
Because we are unable to resolve a situation, change a condition, or assert a principle of ours. So we fight against this ‘’failing‘’ of ours; we wage war against that part of us that is not up to it.
This makes us very angry, irritated and violent, ready to fight, to eliminate the problem and, finally, to live in peace. A peace that soon turns out to be only a ceasefire, fake and illusory, unfortunately.
Here it is that ‘Where does the war originate?’ that strange place, which we do not want to see because it is too painful, becomes real, a non-place that is every place because it accompanies us every step of the way.
Acknowledging this reality would be the first step to making peace with ourselves, with our limitations, inadequacies, faults, and resentment, to finding an inner place where we can feel a small, beautiful relief, where we can pause without fearing that someone will overtake us, excluding us.
Hence, we could seek peace with others (husbands, wives, parents, children, friends, and so on) if we first find peace within ourselves. Certainly, it would still not be enough, but it would be the first step. Let me conclude with an obvious statement: if we do not take the first step, how can we expect to get anywhere?