Once there was a teacher who had two students. The teacher instructed his students to go home and draw a picture of peace. The next day both students came back with their pictures. The first student had drawn a pastoral mountain scene. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the stream was meandering undisturbed. The teacher thanked the student for his picture. The second student handed her picture to the teacher. This student had drawn a completely different scene than the first student. Her picture was dark and stormy. There were dark clouds and lightning bolts, and the wind was whipping through the trees. However, on one branch of a tree was a bird calmly sitting in her nest. The teacher smiled and told the second student that she had mastered the lesson of peace.
Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the ability to exist in a state of calm despite the storm raging all around. This truth is one that I have come to embrace whole-heartedly. It has transformed the way I view world peace. I truly believe that all people envision a time when the world can completely be in peace and harmony. I believe the difference is in how we see the ability to get there. I think that we can never truly gain world peace until each individual is able to experience calm in the storm. Life is chaotic. It is difficult. We face many trials in life. If we can get to a point where it doesn’t matter what life throws at us, then we can experience peace. I believe that when one person achieves peace in her life then others will see it and work towards peace in their own lives. As each of us achieves peace, more and more people will as well. I believe when we reach a point in history when every individual has reached the capacity to live calmly in the storm of life, then we will have achieved the ability to have world peace. When we all have tasted the beauty that is peace, we will naturally live in harmony with each other.
September 21 is the International Day of Peace. It is a UN designated holiday in dedication of the absence of war and violence. It is the perfect time to dedicate yourself to cultivating calm in a modern world.