Anthony Goulet shares how young people are more than willing to build peace upon this earth with us, after they witness adults living peace as a way of life.
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How are the children doing? The answer to this question is a reflection of our society within our young people not our young people within society. Our young people are the answer not the problem. We have world peace day, world prayer day, red ribbon week, violence prevention week, and a plethora of other days and weeks dedicated to what should be lifestyles. When the most significant things are reduced to events instead of life-ways, our young people internalize this and follow our lead. What is truly honored in society? What is truly lived out on a daily basis in society? What is the true message being conveyed by the adults in society? Can we honestly say our daily actions, which is our true message to our young people is peace, generosity, sobriety, with the ultimate goal of self actualization by ridding ourselves of the word self? Are our young people being shown that we as humanity are interconnected by lifestyles of selflessness?
If we want peace we have to cultivate peace building. If we want to build something the correct tools are required. Teaching our young people to use these tools on a daily basis is also required. The toolbox a peace builder carries on a daily basis is Love. Opening the toolbox of Love we find the tools of Compassion, Empathy, Selflessness, Kindness, Generosity, Fortitude, Forgiveness, Charity, Collaboration, and Humaneness. The toolbox of Love is filled with the words we, us, together, and collective. The toolbox of Love contains all that we as humanity need to build peace.
If it’s true that the opposite of Love is not hate, but fear, then what would be within the toolbox of fear? What exists in the toolbox of fear are the exact opposite of Love’s tools. The toolbox of fear contains apathy, disdain, indifference, hatred, disunity, competition, greed, selfishness, unforgiveness, blame, jealousy, discontentment, condemnation, unwholesome reasoning, unskillful desires, self-righteous indignation, contrived malice, guilt, and shame. The toolbox of fear is filled with the words I, me, my, and division. The toolbox of fear contains everything needed for violence in all of its forms, and its forms are in no way exclusive to physically harming another human being.
Our toolbox is our hearts, and there can be no violence without fear. The root of violence is fear, the root of fearlessness is Love. Before we can build peace we must examine our tools and be honest about the toolbox we carry, because these are the tools we use and offer to others. And because of our example, our young people determine what tools are important based on the tools they witness us using. Our actions show our young people what tools we deem important by the way we treat one another; the way we speak to and about one another, and by the way we love or fear one another. Our young people are more than willing to build peace upon this earth with us, after they witness adults living peace as a way of life, not just an event.
In discarding the toolbox of fear we remember the unshakable foundation of Love, where the archway of Peace exists for us to walk through. In taking this short walk we remember, and can once again live the truth of peace that the Mayan tribe gives us in poetic form, not just as a poem, but a way of life, a truth that is within all of us, because it is all of us…
“You are my other self
If I hurt you
I hurt myself
If I love and respect you
I love and respect myself”
Originally appeared at Anthony Goulet.com
Photo: Dimitri Launder/Flickr
Other posts by Anthony Goulet:
Yes, the Hug-a-Thug Approach is Powerful in Gang Interventions
What I’ve Learned About Autism From my Son