Happy International Day of Peace everyone!
Those participating in the Peace Blogfest include:
Ravena Guron
Mira
Those participating in the Peace Blogfest include:
Ravena Guron
Mira
For the Peace Day Blogfest, I prompted participants with the
question what does peace mean to you?
I had many reasons for asking this question: I was curious as to what the
different perspectives are; I believe we should hear every possible side of an
argument in order to come to a conclusion about how to proceed; and I wanted a
more individualistic approach to the blogfest, encouraging participants to
express their deep opinions with logic and a personal touch. But mainly, I
asked this question because of my own answer to the question.
To me, peace means respect, support, empathy, forgiveness
of, and nonviolence toward all people, regardless of their race, religion,
socioeconomic status, or any other factor that differentiates one individual or
group from another.
When the subject of peace comes up in conversation, most
people immediately think it is a global or political issue, something left up
to the government to regulate. I disagree with this idea. There is more to “peace”
than “world peace.” While world peace is the end goal, the main objective, it
is impossible unless countries can find peace within their borders; unless
communities can find peace between their groups; unless families can find peace
in domestic arguments; and most significantly, unless individual people can
find peace within themselves.
I believe that the root of all unrest in the world is anger.
Obviously it can manifest itself in numerous forms: anger at not getting what
you want, not getting your way, wanting more than you have, others disagreeing
with you, and much more—some people just wake up angry for no reason at all. Also,
mob mentality and the search for belongingness can exacerbate anger (though it
can also exacerbate peace, but more on that later).This anger, which is most
often sparked by circumstances beyond the angry person’s control, can lead to
violence, be it physical or verbal. Because a person is angered by external
forces (other people’s behavior, bad luck, or “the system,” for example), they
may feel out of control of the situation and may act out of frustration. An
angry individual is overcome by their emotion: they become egocentric, putting
their own selfish interests above anyone else’s, which may lead them to
dominate over others to make them feel good about themselves or, conversely, lead
them to feel guilty for their actions and therefore angry at themselves—but the result is that they
are still angry and nothing is resolved.
An angry person is a single-minded person, unable to see the
other side of the story. They believe their view is the right view. But as
Friedrich Nietzsche said, “There is no
truth; there is only perspective.” Instead of letting our anger control us,
we must learn to control our anger and shift our perspective from the negative
to the positive. Even neutral is a good start. If you approach a stressful
situation with acceptance instead of frustration, you will react with peace and
nonviolence. When you see violence in the world, do not respond with violence;
even when you witness an act of violence but are afraid to confront the angry
individual, do not see your fear as a failure, but see your own nonviolence as
social progress. When you are at peace with yourself, your actions will reflect
your outlook, and others will learn from your example.
“There is no truth; there is only perspective.” This is whyI read. This is why I enjoy absorbing knowledge
from other cultures. This is why I’m asking: what does peace mean to you?
Instead of segregating humanity into what makes us
different, we should embrace our differences and focus on the aspects that
unite us. On a global scale, this appears daunting, but as the hundreds of
determined individuals in our world’s history have proven, we have the
capability to change the world by being the
change we wish to see in it; by acknowledging our anger and letting it go; by
forgiving those who anger us or partake in activities we deem unrighteous (they
have their own perspective and may see their actions as just!); and by
exploring our capacity to love unconditionally our fellow earth-inhabitants
despite the torments that surround us each day.
Peace, Aimee
Thanks for joining me in the Peace Blogfest 2012! You canfind more information about the Peace One Day organization on their website.
