We must be the change we want to see in the world ... [Gandhi, 1869 - 1948]

~~~

We must be peace itself both inside and outside (remember that not only "peaceful" but "peace" itself) in order to enjoy peace in the world ... If we look forward to having a safe, peaceful and beautiful world to live in with our children, friends and loved ones ... there is no other way for us except being peace and growing peace inside ourselves first and then spreading it out to the societies we live in ...

~~~

Reading the history books, those many many years ago, looking at the dark ages of brutalities, genocides and wars ... I was always thinking with myself, as a child, that how great it is to live in the world now which has been advanced significantly in terms of humanity, human rights, international laws and treaties and international peace and understanding ... But, is it really true?

Are we really living in a world that is very much advanced in terms of interpersonal and interfaith respects and international understanding and peace?
Can we claim this and be so proud of living with our loved ones and our kids on a planet which is a safe place to live in?

~~~

Every day, you open the newspaper with expectation of reading something tragic, something sad, something away from humanity belonging to those old old dark ages of brutalities ...
Every day, you turn on the TV and "news" is no longer "news" ... it is only and only ugly stories of genocides, killings and barbaric actions ...

~~~

Hellen Keller (1880 - 1968) said "The highest result of education is tolerance" ...
Are we really educated? ...
We have become people with zero-tolerance who can not bear with those who do not think like us or simply reject and refuse our way of thinking ...

We have even gone beyond, we not only tolerate the other thoughts but we judge them in the court that we are the sole judge, attorney and the police officer and sentence them for imprisonment, death, torture, genocide ... and more and more ...
Are we educated? ... Have we got the whole beautiful virtue of this simple but deep quote of Hellen Keller? ...

~~~

We, ourselves, have made this beautiful planet an uncomfortable place to live in ... Not a safer place to live and celebrate the life in but a place at every corner of which, there are tragic news of wars, killings, brutalities, genocides and inhumanities every day after day ...

You know ... although we have made significant progresses in creating and inventing better tools to facilitate daily life for ourselves ... but the sad truth is ... we have not been "advanced" much to practice "tolerance" in ourselves and to be the "peace" inside and outside to promise a peaceful world for the generations to come and celebrate a beautiful life on the same planet ...


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[Photo: A child watching the soldiers march,
Courtesy of BBC Persian, www.bbc.co.uk/persian]