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Isn’t peace something we all desire? To see great strides in humanity, progress, and innovation while war, famine, and destruction are a thing of the past. To be able to rest easy at night, knowing that not only you and yours are safe but all the others around the world are safe as well. To know that everyone is not just fed, but filled with nutrition and has access to all the things they need to thrive and are able to enjoy their own life. To know that there is nothing to fear because help is always just a call or a step away.
But are we really ready for what it takes to get there?
You say you want peace, but you only want it if everyone believes what you believe and does what you want them to do.
Peace won’t come by demanding others be like us, do what we do, or believe what we believe. Peace won’t come by being greedy and selfish, thinking there isn’t enough to go around.
Peace won’t come by unfriending people on social media because they don’t agree with you. Peace won’t come by trash-talking and disregarding political parties opposed to yours.
Peace won’t come by arguing and name-calling and being so narrow-minded and closed in your perspective that it angers you when someone won’t change their opinion.
Peace won’t come by telling everyone else to change when you haven’t spent a single moment looking into the mirror of your soul.
There will always be someone who doesn’t do what you want them to do, or believe what you want them to believe, or live a lifestyle that you don’t like.
So much demand put on the government and wealthy people to stop being greedy and self-seeking and narrow-minded...and we forget that sometimes, we are no better than they are.
We try to take rights away from other human beings in order to force them to adhere to our religious beliefs. We say we want to create a space for open communication to solve problems, but then we unfriend people who don’t see things our way.
If you’re waiting for everyone to agree on everything in order to have world peace, you won’t ever see it.
Peace comes through understanding, compromise, and open perspective despite different opinions or lifestyles.
Peace will only come through listening with full concentration, with the intent of understanding. Peace will only come as we truly see through the eyes of another and slip our feet into their shoes. Peace will only come with the willingness to embrace what is.
Peace will only come when we accept people for who they are, as they are, right now at this moment. We don’t dismiss them or cancel them and pretend we are better than they are or know more than they know.
Peace will only come when we realize that just because we think we are right, doesn’t mean that we actually are. No one knows everything there is to know. We all understand, perceive, and have knowledge in just a little different way than anyone else.
Peace will only come when we let go of the narrative that we hold onto so tightly...because we’ve created an identity around it.
STOP pointing fingers at everyone around you...the political leaders...the wealthy elite...those you blame for the downfall of society.
Pick up a mirror and look deeply at your own reflection. Take a good, hard look.
Do you shut people down on social media, claiming you don't have the energy for a discussion when all you really want is to hide from having to think? Do you put the proverbial blinders on and ignore questions because you are scared you might have to analyze your belief system? Are you afraid of someone else's knowledge because it might mean swallowing your pride and admitting you don't have all the answers? Are you terrified of tough, nuanced conversation because your worldview might change?
If gaining new understanding and broadening your perspective sounds frustrating or makes you angry, you don't want peace, you want conformity.
You can’t change ANYONE but yourself.
Peace starts with you.