P = Peace

If every reader of this blog were asked to say what PEACE means to them, there would be many, many answers.  PEACE is as individual a concept as any abstract one can conceive of.  So we will share what our concept of Peace is.

Peace is a place without fear and anxiety.  Sometimes it can be a quiet forest, with only the sounds of nature present.  Wind soughing through trees, skitters of small animals on a bed of pine needles, a branch of a tree creaking with age.  Or it can be toes touching the ocean waves as they slide in, foamy and cold.  It can be watching little bugs scurry on a hot sidewalk, seeking what they can see and we cannot.

Peace can be listening to music that transports us to another realm with its sounds and maybe words.  It can be taking paints and mixing them to create a color that pleases our souls and then is applied to paper or canvas.  It can be writing down what we feel or want to feel.

Peace can be complete silence or being pummeled by noise that is greater than that within us.  Peace.  Elusive, sought after, a goal that means absence of strife, violence, hatred.  Peace is seeing souls— not color, religion, sexual orientation, wealth or lack of wealth, social status, attire, or affiliation with one group or another.

To our way of thinking, peace, ultimately, is a presence that only resides within us.  It can exist regardless of the outside world.  It can be maintained in any adverse circumstances or events.  It is not “driven” but rather exists as a state of heart.  It can surpass and rise above all else.  It helps people bond heart to heart, soul to soul.  It is a unifying of spirits that wishes only good toward all.

Peace means to us—we will not hate you.  We will not judge you.  We will not wish evil on you.  We will not harm nor kill you.  It means we have hope for a better world.  It means we will say no to destructive behaviors, confident that the peace we feel can be felt by all if allowed.  It means we share it, not share revenge and pettiness.

Peace is not allowing ourselves to be bullied into group thinking, but rather finding our own path and taking our own journey without forcing others to adhere to our beliefs or way of thinking.

Ultimately, PEACE, to us, is saying we can be comfortable with ourselves and others need to be comfortable with themselves.  Then, we will respect each other, connect with each other, and yes, the world in its entirety will have no need to kill, destroy, or harm.  When there is peace within, it fosters peace without.

Peace to all.