The Need for Peace

“Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do,

Something you are, And something you give away.”

- Robert Fulghum

We have a glorious quest to change the world. No matter how hopeless and no matter

how far, we should make a difference. The future is filled of promises of peace, liberty,

and happiness. We never know what lies ahead. This is when uncertainty starts. We

are born to innocence. We are like blank slate which is infinite in its potential and fragile

in its design. We are like unfilled container to be loaded by infinite possibilities.

There are different paths to follow but ends in a common goal. The goal is peace.

We want the world to be better place for you and for me and the entire human race to

live. This can be done by spreading the message of peace through loving, respecting,

and caring for one another. But my question is why many among us go terribly wrong?

What makes them walk to path of darkness and not to the path of light? Is it free will or

is it destiny?

I personally don’t believe in the law of hate because hate only generates wrath

which stimulates our body and mind do things which are not meant to be right. Hatred

causes people to do dumb and violent things. I suppose that no one in this planet can

live a life filled of hatred for the reason that it is like living a life of tragedy, injustice, and

oppression. I know that there is a long road ahead for this hatred among others to

vanish but they must learn to maintain and develop the capacity to forgive because to
forgive is divine, to err is human. Thus, a person who lacks the power to forgive lacks

the power to love. And a life without love is just a wasted time. But no peace could

occur if people don’t have a sincere attitude of forgiveness in their hearts. Forgiveness

is essential for inner peace. If you would cleave on to the wrongs others have done to

you, your life will be full of anger and despair. Thus, forgiveness is indispensable in

maintaining a world with genuine and unceasing peace.

People must start to have peace of mind. A state where in a person is spiritually

and emotionally at peace. It’s the most valuable thing that we can develop. Our actions

must be of selfless motives. People must also accept criticisms of other people and

know his/her strengths and weakness. We should also control our thoughts. Avoiding

destructive or negative thoughts can make us live in a world of peace and harmony.

People must simplify their life. Often we do unnecessary things in our life, doing only

significant things with enjoyment and passion can make our life at ease. Sometimes

doing unnecessary things often create problems or worries which is not helpful in

achieving inner peace.

We have conquered the four corners of the world which brought destruction and

detestation to the many lives. Man had hunted for peace so long ago but men only have

it temporarily because man is narcissistic in nature. So we must erase selfishness and

be governed by the Divine law so that each one of us will be inspired to do good, forgive

others and our self and love others to have a peaceful and better life.

For us to reach peace, we must teach peace. Peace education refers to the

process of promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about

behavior changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and
violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the

conditions conducive to peace, whether at an intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup,

national or international level (UNICEF). Through peace education, people can promote

and spread the message of peace worldwide. People especially the youth can be taught

of concept of cooperation, critical thinking, responsible decision-making, constructive

problem solving, communication, confidence and responsibility. These knowledge,

skills, and attitude can be a vital weapon for survival in this ever changing world.

From now on we should make a pledge to be advocate of peace. We should be

strong enough to stand and carry out our beliefs to life a life secured by love, liberty,

and justice. We should commit ourselves to a peaceful living.

We should put love into action. Like the song says, “All we need is love, love,

love…” There is no greater thing in this world but to love and be loved back. Fear,

anger, hate and other expressions are because of the lack of love. When we love, we

become open and expansive. With love in all our works, it will be easier for us to

maintain a harmonious relationship with others in working hand in hand in maintaining

peace in our lives. In loving, there is sacrificing. We should learn to love and sacrifice

not only for our family but also for other people. We sacrifice for studies not only

because it will help us to have better future but for the main reason that we love our

family and this is in exchange for their sacrifices for us.

We should also have a compassionate heart. A compassionate heart will be very

helpful in promoting peace because it will not only enrich people whom you interact but

also your life. One of most compassionate acts we can do is learn to listen and
understand. People who are at the lowest point of their life, needs to be freed from their

anxiety by listening to their problems and struggles.

We should also observe virtues which consist of prudence (exercising sound

judgment in practical affairs); justice (giving what is due to others); restraint or

temperance ( practicing self-control, abstention, and moderation); courage or fortitude

(ability to confront fear, difficulty, or danger); faith (steadfastness in belief); hope (a

belief in a positive outcome); and charity (willingness to give). If we carry on loving and

applying virtues in life, we can then sustain peace. We should also have an open

mind and not be bias about issues. If standard of morals will be followed this will

promote prosperity in our life. If not followed, people will not respect each other, there

will be misunderstanding between people, crimes can follow and with crime there can

be violence, and if there is no order, there is no peace.

We must carefully weigh things. Being open-minded makes us understand and

appreciate other people’s opinions. In that way, people will be sensitive to the feelings

of other people.

Following the Golden Rule, it says, “Don’t do unto others what you would like

others do unto you." This is also known as ethic of reciprocity. This rule is universal.

We must treat others, as you would want to be treated. Joy and peace will be the result

if we will follow this moral principle. If people will be kind and loving, our life will be full of

kindness and love. To apply the golden rule effectively, we need knowledge and

imagination. We need to identify what effect our actions have on the lives of others. And

we need to be able to imagine ourselves, vividly and truthfully, in the other person's

place on the receiving end of the action. With knowledge, imagination, and the golden
rule, we can extend far in our moral thinking. If we violate the Golden Rule, we also

violate the virtues and other principles which are essential in sustaining peace in our

nation.

Inspiration is needed by everyone for peace to continue to spread. We should

have an inspiration in life. My inspiration is my family; I want them to have a peaceful,

joyful, prosperous and long life. And for that to happen I should promote peace by

forgiving, loving, and sacrificing for them. I should also practice and include the different

virtues in my daily life activities. I will only do good things and avoid harm to anyone

for kindness and love to shower upon us. As good citizens of this country we should

always follow rules and regulations to maintain peace and order in our country. In order

to maintain public order and ensure peace, we need strong, spiritual, and wise leaders.

Leaders should be vigilant in order to stop wicked people who only want to fulfill their

personal desires. Therefore, leaders should impose strict punishments to those

criminals who refuse to help in having a peaceful society. The leader has the principal

duty of protecting its righteous and peaceful citizen to bring peace in our country.

Leaders must keep in mind the welfare of his country and countrymen. A loving and

caring leader is also what we need. Also a leader must fulfill their promises. If people

see that they are loved and cared by the leader through creating policies which really

benefit them, people will feel secured and will trust and keenly collaborate with the

leader and will give their full support.

We are all connected. We are joined together by an unseen thread. Everyone in

this world wants peace and happiness in their life but achieving peace is not a single

endeavor. It requires the unity of all. Our focus must be the realization of man for the
need to be together as one. This means that the whole world is a one big happy family.

Even if we have various differences, we should set aside our differences and we must

learn to understand and appreciate our similarities and differences in order to extend

our heart toward others. Once we start to operate as one, life will become easier to

everyone and peace will be an automatic result. We should make a difference. We

should be united for us to achieve our goal – peace. We must never falter that this effort

will fail. We must trust our Lord Jesus Christ that we will overcome the problems that we

will encounter in sharing and maintaining long-lasting peace to anyone, anytime, and

anywhere. We should appreciate life and live it fully each moment. Let us remember

that peace is a gift from God that must be shared and cared.