From Sea Lions to World Peace

We have a colony of sea lions near me. Through donations, a sturdy dock was built for them in a popular tourist area of shops and restaurants and a working bayfront. Hundreds of all male sea lions generally lay around doing nothing but entertaining us for eleven month out of the year. For the month of July, they travel almost 1,000 miles to the Channel Islands off the California coast to party it up with the ladies they haven’t seen in almost a year. What they won’t do for love.

Tourists and locals alike love this close up look at these behemoths, which can be heard well before they are seen. While they average around 700 pounds, some are much larger and there is clearly a hierarchy in place.

Now you would think, with several tons of sea lion in a very small space, there would be some major fighting going on. Surprisingly, this is not the case. As the smaller bulls tend to play in the water more, and then disrupt the colony as the jump on and climb over the resting hulks, they are reprimanded briefly and things once again settle down. This type of cooperative behavior can be found throughout the animal kingdom.

Here’s where it gets interesting. As I began writing this article, my intent was to compare the behavior of these sea lions to humans. Why can’t humans get along like the sea lions? Why must our fights escalate into “us vs. them”? After all, we’re governed by hierarchies in our society, too. So, I sat with it, and slept on it (or didn’t), and mulled it over, and researched it, and did all things I usually do when I’m stuck. Oftentimes, I move on to another topic, but I thought this one had some merit, I just needed to flush it out. And here’s what I’ve come up with.

We humans are a mixed bag of culture and values and mores, and so hierarchies can take a variety of forms. We’re a complex species with a complex society, and the same parameters within a sea lion colony don’t apply to us. What’s more, we are capable of deep thought, goal setting, and strong opinions. When we are dissatisfied, we have a vested interest in upsetting the status quo, in other words, changing the hierarchy.

It’s no wonder war has existed throughout history. Yet, as a self-proclaimed pacifist, it’s difficult for me accept that war is a necessary part of our society. I really had to embrace that beginner’s mind I so often talk about. Am I just deluding myself, buying into a concept that I want to be true, but perhaps isn’t? Is a peaceful world possible?

It’s an age-old question. After all, the history of humanity is riddled with war through the ages, as far back as we are aware. The end of all wars is often viewed as a philosophical question, and now there is a growing interest in observing it empirically. To that end, and as with anything you find on the internet, there’s a mixed bag of answers, and most any answer you want to find to support your particular point of view. I tend to follow the Global Peace Index report, and for 2024, the numbers are not very promising.

So where does that leave me? Honestly, I don’t yet know. So I will continue to live my life in peace, to be open to the possibilities, and to promote peace through meditation. I’d like to hear from you. Is world peace possible and how?