Dona Nobis Pacem

Fly your peace globe today, November 7! I'm flying mine in honor of Blogblast for Peace and this is my post about how I feel about peace. My globe includes a quote from Elenor Roosevelt that I find particularly inspiring. It applies to peace in the world as well as peace in our own lives. It also applies to any positive change that we may be trying to create in the world or in our lives. It isn't enough just to talk about something, you have to believe in it. But you can't just believe in it, you have to work at it. How is that true for peace? I believe we can apply it in the same way that we apply another famous quote that I love, "Be the change you want to see in the world." We can't just talk about peace, we have to believe in it. I personally believe that if you believe strongly enough in something, you will work at it, simply because of your strong belief that it is right. What can we, as individuals, do to create world peace? We can start in our own lives by doing something kind to someone else. This may not be very profound, but I have discovered that it is pretty difficult to be angry or violent with someone when you have a "warm fuzzy feeling" because someone else just did something kind for you. Even if the person who was kind is not the one you may be angry or upset with. There's a certain symmetry to the world, where if you pay something forward, it will eventually come back to you. I think this can apply to peace. What is peace? It is a state of nonviolence, a lack of hostility. It's hard to be hostile when someone just baked you a batch of chocolate chip cookies! While that batch of cookies may not change the world, the kind thing your recipient does for someone else and the kind thing they do for someone else may eventually create a ripple effect that can be heard around the world. The smallest whisper can be turned into the mightiest roar with the right amplification. Send a whisper out into the world today. Show someone love and respect, and see what happens when they do the same for someone else and so on. It's amazing to know you're making a difference. Perhaps one day, the ripple will become a wave that will wash away all the war and hatred in the world. Perhaps one day, we will truly see world peace.