Peace goals

One of my ultimate goals is to really look in to my life and find those things that are affecting other people’s life as well as mine in a negative way and try to change them. The other goal would be to try to accept other peoples’ differences in a more open manner. Typically I am very accepting of other people; however I think that there is room for improvement and if in improving I make a change in someone’s life then that is a plus.

Needs vs. Wants

Inner peace is not something that can be achieved easily. It requires time and effort. Many times people think that you can achieve inner peace by obtaining everything you want. I think that in order to obtain internal peace one must first take a real look inside and figure out what you need, not want, and what you could do without, the things that are hurting you more than they are helping. Hate can be an obstacle in achieving inner peace in that when we hate we focus a lot of our energy on these negative emotions. Negativity will ultimately lead us to unhappiness. Being at peace with one self is not about being happy all the time its about knowing that even if you have a horrible day you can still find a degree of calmness that will help you get through the day. It is only once we really look in to our lives that we are able to determine what it is that we NEED to live a healthy life. Inner peace involves dignity and self-respect. Without these there one can never achieve this state of mind and life.

The achievement of peace

Black, red, yellow, brown, white…nothing but colors.

Long, short, thin, thick…just some shapes.

Enchiladas, chicken, pizza, pasta…all great food.

Combinations of the three…uniqueness.

As children in preschool we learn about every single one of these characteristics in relation to objects. However, as young adults these characteristics become part of us. We begin to be labeled according to these characteristics. We are no longer just beautiful children; we become Mexican, African, Asian, Muslim, individuals. Cultural, social, and even racial differences have kept us all from unity, thus creating a grand division. Greed, hate, and racism are all demonstrations of intolerance, the thing that keep us from achieving that so longed state of peace.

The issue of racism and discrimination can be traced as far as the history of man goes. It has been an ongoing struggle between any opposing views. Take slavery for example, the term itself refers to Slav individuals who were forced to become laborers in the Mediterranean areas. However, it was in America that the institution itself became race-based. It was no longer about people working to pay a debt, it was about people working because another group thought they were meant to do such thing simply because their skin color was not the same as theirs. By using their uniqueness against black people slavery became associated with racism.

Almost a century later this principle of intolerance hit an all time high. The Holocaust became a worldwide known genocide recorded in history, killing more than six million Jews. The purpose of this was to exterminate the Jews. It was an act of hatred that took intolerance to a new level. It left grief and an undoubtable lesson: intolerance can only lead to grief never peace.

This lesson however is somehow still ignored. In the present day today hatred and greed can be seen everywhere. Take the Middle East for instance, the greed of their leaders has led to more violence.  Bahrain is a country in which there is intolerance between two religious groups concerning both religion and politics. History has shown us that violence can not lead to peace yet we choose to ignore this fact. However, not all is lost in the middle of all this violence and intolerance there are those who stand out by resisting violence and approaching things with peaceful tactics.

Time and time again genetics has ensured to show us how special every single one of us is. However, human jealousy, greed, and hate have managed to twist this simple beautiful truth in to a false reality where it’s the differences that turn us in to outsiders. Time and time again intolerance has lead to violence and destruction, leaving nothing but pain and sorrow. How are we to achieve peace when we only fight for it with violence? Would it not make more sense to search for peace in a way that respects and accepts other people for who they are?