So Simple ~ Monica

 "The sky was clear and blue, and the sun sparkled on all three inches of pool water. Off in the distance I could hear the hum of an air conditioner, and much closer, the song of birds. The air smelled fresh and clean. My brain was parked in neutral. I was having that elusive experience that is a complete moment of peace.

I had the presence of mind to ask myself, how did I obtain this moment? How can I have more?

One thing I noticed was that in my peaceful moment, I was engaging almost all of my senses. Everything I saw, heard, touched, and smelled was calm and pleasing. The other thing I noticed was that I was completely engaged in the moment. There were no thoughts of what needed to be done or what happened yesterday. It was full immersion in the present. What a blessing it is to focus on being and not doing, to celebrate and give praise to what life is at that very moment. Oh, it's so simple and yet so rare!

So here is another lesson I learned on obtaining a more peaceful life. Take time to live in the moment. Engage all of your senses in that moment. Most importantly, plan for peaceful moments, and if you can't plan, then be on the look out for random moments of being still that you can cultivate into quiet moments of joy."

~ Monica

More of this outstanding blogg at 
 http://www.blueskiesandshooflypies.com/

Artwork Rom Welsh-Canadian artist Valeriane Leblond
http://www.valeriane-leblond.eu/home.html

Confirm the Purpose ~ Dennis Kucinich

"Peace is not just the absence of war, it is the active presence of a capacity for love and compassion, and reciprocity. It is an awareness that our lives are not to be lived simply for ourselves through expressing our individuality, but we confirm the purpose of our lives through the work of expressing our shared sense of community in a purposeful and practical way; to sustain our own lives we sustain the lives of others - in family, in a community of neighborhoods called a city, and in a community of nations called the world."
~ Dennis Kucinich

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Kucinich

Artwork from  Illarion Nikolaevich   http://haji-b.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/illarion-pleshchinsky-1892-1963.html

Poverty without Hope ~ Muhammad Ali

"We must not only control the weapons that can kill us, we must bridge the great disparities of wealth and opportunity among the peoples of the world, the vast majority of whom live in poverty without hope, opportunity or choices in life. These conditions are a breeding ground for division that can cause a desperate people to resort to nuclear weapons as a last resort. Our only hope lies in the power of our love, generosity, tolerance and understanding and our commitment to making the world a better place for all..."

~  Muhammad Ali

More at  http://louisville.edu/aliinstitute/

The Future of Peace ~ John Dear

"If we want to discover the blessings of peace, we have to renounce war and dedicate ourselves to a new world without war. Every human being has to join this global campaign for peace if we are to lead ourselves away from the precipice of global catastrophe. We need to rediscover our shared humanity and reclaim the higher principles of love, justice, compassion and equality. We need to demand food, clothing, housing, education, healthcare, and dignity for every child on the planet. We need to give our lives for a future of peace."

~John Dear

More at  http://www.plough.com/en/articles/2012/march/dare-to-imagine

Artwork by Sarah Gittins http://www.edinburghprintmakers.co.uk/artist/sarah-gittins

Two Kinds of People ~ Ursula Franklin

"At this stage in my life I am ashamed to say how long I lived under the assumption that there really are two kinds of people. There are the "good people" with principles who think about human rights and moral issues but they are pretty dumb about the world. And then there are hard-nosed realists, who really know what the world is all about. They make the hard choices and "bite the bullet" and leave us with the mess we have.

It had not occurred to me that the world is in a mess because of the hard nosed realists. The "good people" (whom one couldn't trust because they are soft and think of human rights and of little children or old ladies) in fact have contributed little to the mess. That mess is evidence that the hard-nosed guys don't know what they are doing. They believe in Newtonian force-counterforce stuff and they haven't a clue about living organisms, about emotion, or about the evolution of community. The discourse that we wish has to begin by clearly understanding that we face a mess that is caused by a wrong model of society and humanity. Though we have assumed that the "good people" have nothing to say, the fact is that the hard-nosed realists have nothing to say. Let us acknowledge the failure of method. It's not that we want to substitute one jerk with another one - a gentleman jerk, say, with a lady jerk. A method itself fails when it does not take into account this fundamental truth - that cooperation (non-violence) not only might work; it works in ninety percent of the cases."

~ Ursula Franklin

More at  http://peacemagazine.org/archive/v16n4p08.htm

A Mennonite View of Peace

"We seek to be agents of reconciliation in all relationships, to practice love of enemies as taught by Christ, to be peacemakers in all situations. We view violence in its many different forms as contradictory to the new nature of the Christian. We believe that the evil and inhumane nature of violence is contrary to the gospel of love and peace. In times of national conscription or war, we believe we are called to give alternative service where possible.  Alleviating suffering, reducing strife, and promoting justice are ways of demonstrating Christ’s love."

More at   http://www.usmb.org/confession-of-faith-detailed

Fears of Discovering ~ Iris Graville

"I know that many people throughout the world face the kind of conflict that threatens their lives. I’m blessed to live in a time and place that is not fraught with such violence, fortunate to rarely encounter hostility in my daily life. And yet, I don’t feel in unity with everyone, at all times. Whether it’s in my Quaker Meeting, at work, in my family, or among friends and community, sometimes tempers flare, opposing views swirl, or anger erupts. When that happens, there’s the familiar churn of my stomach. My heart races, my throat closes up, my head throbs. I’m afraid.

The conflicts most common in my life stir fears of discovering I’m wrong or have made a mistake. I succumb to old beliefs from childhood that there is a “right” way to act or believe, as if there is only one right answer. I fear disapproval and rejection. In introductory psychology, I learned that animals respond to fear in one of two ways – fight or flight. I don’t want to do either, yet engaging with the differences brings a pounding to my chest.

Quaker practice has taught me to listen, to lead with a question instead of defending my opinion. When I remember to ask, rather than answer, I open myself to the possibility that there is something for me to learn."

~ Iris Graville

More at  http://bloggerbyconvincement.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Quakers

World of Peace ~ Robert Maynard Hutchins

"The goal toward which all history tends is peace, not peace through the medium of war, not peace through a process of universal intimidation, not peace through a program of mutual impoverishment, not peace by any means that leaves the world too weak or too frightened to go on fighting, but peace pure and simple based on that will to peace which has animated the overwhelming majority of mankind through countless ages. This will to peace does not arise out of a cowardly desire to preserve one's life and property, but out of conviction that the fullest development of the highest powers of men can be achieved only in a world of peace."

 ~ Robert Maynard Hutchins

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maynard_Hutchins

Non-violent Action ~ Helen Fox

"Over the past hundred years, non-violent action by ordinary people has accomplished massive social change, toppling dictators, overthrowing colonial governments, ending participation in unjust wars, rewriting oppressive laws, reconciling victims and perpetrators, and healing families and communities. Non-violent action requires leadership, intelligence, creativity, moral and physical courage, self discipline, and brilliant strategy. Why then, do so many people believe that a non-violent response to injustice or attack is unworkable, or “too idealistic”?  Every major religion: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Judaism, councils its followers to sanctify human life and treat all human beings as family. Why, then, do we continue to train young people to kill, maim, and terrorize others? Why do we support a military budget that is three times that of our major adversaries combined? Why do we call our country’s aggression “just” and “noble,” and our enemies’ aggression “unjust,” “mindless,” and “evil”?  Why do we caricature and dehumanize people of other races as a prelude to our aggression against them?  Why are we so reluctant to investigate the root causes of violence: poverty,oppression, ignorance, and fear."  ~Helen Fox

More at;   http://www.h-net.org/~peace/hpsyll-fox.pdf
and;  http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hfox/index.html

'Thou Shalt Not Kill' ~ Linus Pauling

"Does the commandment 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' mean nothing to us? Are we to interpret it as meaning 'Thou shalt not kill except on the grand scale,' or 'Thou shalt not kill except when the national leaders say to do so'?"
- Linus Pauling

More at   http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1954/pauling-bio.html

What are Quakers? ~ Margaret Fell

"We are a people that follow after those things that make for peace, love, and unity."

- Margaret Fell

More at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Fell