Give PEACE a CLEAR Definition !
If we wanna be able to DO something in favor of Peace, we first need to have a common definition of the concept of Peace .... That's where the fun begins ... that's when we realise the importance of opening and promoting a dialogue on Peace ...
Whose's first ?!!!
Let your voice be heard ... !
Whose's first ?!!!
Let your voice be heard ... !
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Aybige Durucan on
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Peace is the non violent way of life.
Can be described as ;a relationship between any people characterized by respect, justice, and goodwill .
"There is no way to peace; peace is the way."
Mahatma Gandhi
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Permalink Reply by Seamus Ennis on
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The definition of Peace, for me, is "a functional harmony within a person or group that exists at all levels, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually."
Peace is first and foremost an INNER realization of the value of one's own life, so that we will not accept anything that disrupts that functional harmony within us.
The inner realization of Peace demands that we resolve the INNER conflicts from all the contradictory ideas that we have assimilated from the world. It calls us to be critically aware of the input we receive from others so that we don't create new conflicts within us. We learn to discern which input serves us and a higher good, but not to judge the source of those ideas.
This self-realization of Peace grows and expands outwards to include all other people by honoring that same life within them, no matter what their personal characteristics. We begin to work for that functional harmony outside ourselves. This means that we have to watch the tone we take when working for peace, because if we do it from anger, we're not adding to the peace, but detracting from it.
When we include the world in our Peace-centered awareness, we naturally attract more peace to us. The lies that promote violence wilt on the vine because we don't buy into them. This further expands the sphere of Peace, until all people are included, without the need to argue or fight for it.
Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Peace
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Permalink Reply by Nicole Joseph on
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This is a definition of Peace from cultivatingpeace.ca which is a really wonderful resource as it focuses on the education and empowerment of children. It is a definition that takes into consideration the basic human spiritual and physical survival needs which I believe are important to address in the quest for peace. Seamus, I like the point about not coming from a place of anger, especially when the journey gets frustrating and the obstacles seem impossible to overcome.
Peace is more than the absence of war. It is justice, equity and freedom from oppression, discrimination and all forms of violence. It is compassion and empathy for those we see in our communities and for those whose faces we will never see and whose voices are silenced. It is economic and environmental security. It is cultural dignity and appreciation for all of the unique manifestations of the human spirit. Because of this, the Taking Action resource includes a wide range of issues relating to this definition of peace, including sustainable development, economic disparity, fair trade, human rights and government spending priorities.
Blessings to all.
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Permalink Reply by *Giusy* on
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Yes Nicole, this is an excellent definition indeed. I would simply add that to make this happen, we need to implement large scale awareness through education playing a key role, which is exactly what cultivatingpeace.ca is doing, so it should also state this more clearly in its beautiful and comprehensive definition.
Pace a tutti*g
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Permalink Reply by Drew Blanton on
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World peace has to be peaceful for everyone. Why don't I ever hear about people with disabilities when world peace is discussed? You'd think we would be.
Nicole Joseph said:This is a definition of Peace from cultivatingpeace.ca which is a really wonderful resource as it focuses on the education and empowerment of children. It is a definition that takes into consideration the basic human spiritual and physical survival needs which I believe are important to address in the quest for peace. Seamus, I like the point about not coming from a place of anger, especially when the journey gets frustrating and the obstacles seem impossible to overcome.
Peace is more than the absence of war. It is justice, equity and freedom from oppression, discrimination and all forms of violence. It is compassion and empathy for those we see in our communities and for those whose faces we will never see and whose voices are silenced. It is economic and environmental security. It is cultural dignity and appreciation for all of the unique manifestations of the human spirit. Because of this, the Taking Action resource includes a wide range of issues relating to this definition of peace, including sustainable development, economic disparity, fair trade, human rights and government spending priorities.
Blessings to all.
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Permalink Reply by Eleni on
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For me peace is a the outcome of unconditional love for all that there is.
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Permalink Reply by Joey Ayoub on
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To me Peace is the result of Knowledge. As simple as that.
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Permalink Reply by Hayyim Feldman on
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I originally wrote this for mepeace.org, an Israel-Palestine peace site, so I've left in the specific references to that conflict, but it applies anywhere:
I think inner peace (peace of mind), peace between people, and peace between countries are all basically the same.
Often when people speak of "peace," it sounds to me like they really mean seclusion. In personal terms, "Leave me alone! Can't I get any peace and quiet?" In political terms, what Israel used to call "unilateral separation."
My idea of peace? It's more clear in Hebrew. The word shalom is related to shalem, wholeness. Its opposite is machloket (conflict), which is related to chelek, division. Peace vs. conflict = wholeness vs. division
In the Talmud (gemara Nedarim, Yerushalmi), Ben Azzai puts this in terms that explicitly link the wholeness within a person with the wholeness of our relationships with others. He comments on the biblical verse (Leviticus 19) "Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am HaShem [G!d]", saying:
"How can a person take revenge or bear a grudge against another person? It is like someone who is cutting meat that he is holding in his hand: If the knife accidentally slips and he cuts his hand, would he revenge that hand by cutting the other one?"
In other words, when you see the person facing you as an image of G!d, you see a reflection of your own deepest self in them - "Love your neighbor [who is] as yourself." How, then, could you want to harm them?
To me, peace between Israel and Palestine (or, for that matter, peace within Israel or Palestine) is when we see each other in that light, and act toward each other accordingly.
Everything short of that - all the signed agreements, suppression of violence, etc. (may it come today!) - is mere tolerance of that bothersome Other who we (Jews or Arabs) wish would just leave us alone.
Blessings,
-Hayyim
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Permalink Reply by Neri Bar-On on
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There are Many levels of peace, from the peace of mind inside us to a Cosmic-peace we want to live in. when ever you try to define Peace you make a reduction and have to ignore some aspects of what you are looking for.
We should not work for peace, we should work to create a culture that can have peace sustainable for all our children and that all the children will have the basic needs provided, from a mother to care for him till education resources and jobs to provide his/her needs when they will become parents.
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Permalink Reply by Martha on
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Understanding that the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world” (Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948)
So the principles have been out there for 60 years! We have to make them work!
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Permalink Reply by Diane Crebo on
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For me...Peace is the act of DISarmament. To do all within my capabilities to break the threads of my Militaristic Industrialized Culture of Mass Destruction and in return participate in a Culture of Compassion, Peace and Sympatico= for without a doubt= WE are ALL ONE
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Permalink Reply by Kurt Denhert on
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Hayyim Feldman said:I originally wrote this for mepeace.org, an Israel-Palestine peace site, so I've left in the specific references to that conflict, but it applies anywhere:
I think inner peace (peace of mind), peace between people, and peace between countries are all basically the same.
Often when people speak of "peace," it sounds to me like they really mean seclusion. In personal terms, "Leave me alone! Can't I get any peace and quiet?" In political terms, what Israel used to call "unilateral separation."
My idea of peace? It's more clear in Hebrew. The word shalom is related to shalem, wholeness. Its opposite is machloket (conflict), which is related to chelek, division. Peace vs. conflict = wholeness vs. division
In the Talmud (gemara Nedarim, Yerushalmi), Ben Azzai puts this in terms that explicitly link the wholeness within a person with the wholeness of our relationships with others. He comments on the biblical verse (Leviticus 19) "Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am HaShem [G!d]", saying:
"How can a person take revenge or bear a grudge against another person? It is like someone who is cutting meat that he is holding in his hand: If the knife accidentally slips and he cuts his hand, would he revenge that hand by cutting the other one?"
In other words, when you see the person facing you as an image of G!d, you see a reflection of your own deepest self in them - "Love your neighbor [who is] as yourself." How, then, could you want to harm them?
To me, peace between Israel and Palestine (or, for that matter, peace within Israel or Palestine) is when we see each other in that light, and act toward each other accordingly.
Everything short of that - all the signed agreements, suppression of violence, etc. (may it come today!) - is mere tolerance of that bothersome Other who we (Jews or Arabs) wish would just leave us alone.
Blessings,
-Hayyim
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