Why peace must be peace
Peace has always been a priority among humanity’s highest values and core principles, and for some — supreme. It can mean a lot of things or better put, it can imply a lot of things.
A primary dictionary definition puts it as a state of tranquility, concord, quiet, and harmony; absence of violence or war. A state of law or civil government that provides equilibrium of power. There is no doubt that the absence of war is a prominent condition of peace. However, this is a narrow point of view as Peace is also a lot of things we don’t take cognizance of. Peace is flexible, humble, inspiring, nurturing, giving, tender, sensitive, wise, and intuitive. Peace is free.
It derives its qualities and meaning within a theory or framework, which is contextual. A central agreement on what peace means has never been reached. Hence, a universal definition cannot exist as Christians, Hindu, Buddhist, Politicians, Socialist, Pacifist, Muslims, and individuals from different life sectors would define it from their different perspective.
Individual peace is a state of freedom from oppressive and unpleasant thoughts and emotions. It means harmony in personal relationships. As Norman Vincent puts it “the life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress is the easiest type of existence”
We live in a world full of activities, and we become so lost in these things that we gradually begin to care less about the little things that really matter in life. Thus, in the bid to attain a level of self-satisfaction and peace in our inner self we substantiate its true meaning for trivial things.
To some, attaining a level of financial security where one is able to pay all of their bills is all peace can mean to them. While to some it is highly determined by external and physical factors. This is the reason why the possibility of lasting in the space of peace we create for ourselves is very low.
Peace challenges us to discover ourselves and perhaps surrender to our circumstances. We experience a degradation in the quality of life we live every day because a lot of people constantly live with heaviness in their soul born out of failure at life, falling short of expectations, disappointments, and a lot of other factors. They are at war with themselves and the world. And there comes a time when we begin to become a product of this burden we leave unattended to, breeding violence, depression, frustration, and suicide, a temporary solution to the problem and in some cases a permanent yet unfortunate solution.
The complications around the idea of peace are only a product of our inability to reform our minds. We owe ourselves the responsibility to consciously protect our sanity. And this can be achieved by actively reforming our ideology and mentality about the basic philosophy of life. This is in no way the same as having a formal education.
When we begin to learn to understand that true happiness does not abound in possession and accomplishments, we take a step further in achieving true peace. When we understand that rather the true happiness comes from our mind the quality of life becomes better.
Whether it’s peace of mind or peace on earth you’re after, it all begins with making an effort to become more calm and present.
