Peace is the Way!

In recent news, the headlines have been focused on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Many may wonder why Russia has invaded Ukraine and if there isn’t a peaceful way to go about what they are doing. Today, in the midst of this crisis we celebrate our annual Peace Day in schools all across Jamaica under the theme “Let’s Build Peace Together”. Peace means different things to everyone but it all leads back to “living together in harmony.” Peace is freedom from war, chaos or conflict and no matter how hard it seems there is always a peaceful way to handle things. Let’s talk about five ways we can live peaceably with all men.

Play fairly – playing fairly simply means you are honest in whatever you do. When a person becomes dishonest after a deal is made it allows the other party to become furious and perceive that individual as a traitor; one that cannot be trusted. This can cause retaliation from the party that has been affected and their actions or response may not be favorable. When we play fairly we are promoting peace.

Exercise tolerance – humans are different. Through life experiences we coin our own views and opinions on different aspects of the world. Tolerance is all about accepting the unique views of others even when we don’t agree with them. When we try to shut others down by highlighting their point as “pointless” it allows that person to be defensive towards your every word thus creating an atmosphere of animosity or tension. You can’t be right all the time so try to accept the point of view of others.

Acknowledge faulty actions – it is never easy owning up to when we are wrong but it is the right thing to do. When you think about your actions and how they have affected others and you are able to apologize that spells growth. One of the best ways to be true to yourself is to understand that you can make mistakes and be discipline enough to grab them as your own. To practice peace you first have to acknowledge that you are wrong or something is wrong and needs to be fixed positively.

Care for others- no man is an island and no man stands alone. Peace means you are a good friend, you share with others, you say kind words and these are all ways we can care for others. Peace reflects love so when you care for others there is absence of hurt and a great presence of happiness. It may seem like fairly but if the world was once at peace then it can be at peace again if we all care for each other.

End the violence – we may understand why persons display certain behaviour but it does not mean that the behaviour is acceptable. In no way, shape or form is violence an acceptable act in our society. People may say end violence now and their actions no (matter how small) points towards violence. The unacceptable behaviours in our schools are but the seed and violence is the tree. We can work tirelessly to help students within the school but we need that same help from all environments they are in. In order to have a violent-free society the children of today need to practice positive ways of solving disputes or conflicts.

Every day we make a choice and so our choices should be those that will improve our growth and socialization. There is no room for growth in wars because too much energy is used to destroy each other but there is growth in peace. Being happy for others, helping others, saying kind words, doing kind deeds are just a few things that make the heart smiles. These all reflect peace. Peace can bring so much joy in our lives; after all peace is the way, let’s build it together!

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