{"id":20142,"date":"2026-03-12T14:08:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T14:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scillaelworthy.com\/?p=20142"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:26:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:26:28","slug":"the-power-of-the-heart-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scillaelworthy.com\/?p=20142","title":{"rendered":"The Power of the Heart – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Untold violence has been un-leashed in the Middle East.
We have no way of knowing where it will lead.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This four-part series by the author of \u2018The Mighty Heart in Action\u2019 investigates how the power of the heart can respond to this cri<\/strong>sis<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 1: Violence<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What we do have is the knowledge \u2013 the evidence – that those involved cannot depend on weaponry for \u2018security\u2019.
Lethal weapons may make political leaders, or their military, feel safer. But when they use those weapons, what they unleash on people on either side is shock, terror, threat of retaliation, more violence, and more threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any war, vast numbers of people become instantly vulnerable, and weapons cannot protect them. Thousands of refugees have nowhere to go; minorities are instantly exposed to persecution; health facilities are overwhelmed and unable to cope; women with children need protection; the wounded need in-depth care to recover; thousands have lost their homes and need shelter; orphaned children need reliable adult protection. Violence follows violence. And even if people survive, they have no security, only damage and fear \u2013 and in many cases the terror that will stay with them all their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there an alternative to violence following violence?
The main alternative is clearly negotiation. But once destruction has taken place it provokes more violence, and many lives will be lost before leaders will come to the table.
Then peace building may be the answer put forward. Those involved in this extremely difficult work know only too well how long it takes, how many almost insuperable problems it reveals, problems that may have been simmering beneath the surface of a society for decades. They know that one violent incident can, in an hour, put back their progress by months, even years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to re-build communication and co-operation, after extreme violence has taken place, can test the skills of the most experienced and devoted peace builders. Violent individuals can wreck a carefully constructed peace agreement in minutes. Separation of warring factions can work initially, but quite soon parties will observe any advantages their former enemies have may have gained – and invade or otherwise wreck agreements that took months or years to negotiate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what else is there? What can give security, restore a sense of safety, of permanence, of being able to trust \u2013 trust in others, in our community, trust even in our future? In our experience as peace negotiators over years, the best answer lies in the power of the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The heart ??” <\/em>I hear you say. What on earth can the heart do in the bloody wrath of war?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human heart has VAST powers, powers immediately needed in chaos and violence, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n