| Resolutions for Peace |
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Tonight we toast to the new year - glasses in hand (we'll be having Glogg tonight), we raise them up to the next 365 days to come, the clean slate, the promises we make to ourselves that we will work hard to keep. Among these resolutions, we always make a wish for Peace on Earth. Why wouldn't we? In an evening full of hopes and wishes, why not wish for the one thing this world needs most?
In this spirit I joined a group on FACEBOOK today (a site similar to this minus the religious ties). The group is called "I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 People Who Just Want Peace." I have to say, I was intrigued mostly by the cool Peace Sign picture they had - I don't really pay much attention to these groups, but I figured, 'Hey, why not? I want peace!' The group's focus was to just have everyone take 10 minutes out of the day to do something good for someone else and then, hopefully the love will spread - like the 'pay it forward' effect. So I went to go look for at the groups site and saw that there was a discussion board, and having been inspired by all the posting that we have been doing on MyChurch, I decided to check out what other people were saying about this yearly wish we all make.
I found a discussion titled, "Yeah, so what?" - one guy had written about how peace on Earth is unattainable because we are human. Few commented back, one preaching more about her Baha'i church than discussing peace, some talking about the second coming of Christ, and a few others just throwing in little thoughts in passing, 'how can I bring peace?' etc. I decided to write back.
My belief is that before peace in any large sense can be attained, we must first be at peace with ourselves. Doing something for someone else, as we have all learned at our church, is a rewarding feeling, a peaceful feeling. We have to recognize that we are all different. We will all have our varying beliefs, cultures, religions, etc. but in order for us to be at peace with one another, we must have a respect for one another, and with that, a respect for our own selves. What do you all think? Is peace on Earth really attainable? Where does it begin? and what does it look like? How will the world be when it is at peace? Is it something we can wish for when we 'clink' our glasses together tonight? |
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