Paint the World with Peace!
English: Paint brushes Deutsch: Pinsel (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Let’s pick up our brushes and start painting the world with peace, one brush stroke at a time!
Happy New Year!
“I Wish You Peace in 2013:
A perfect peace.”
How can we attain that perfect peace? Knowledge of the past holds one of the keys. Knowledge of the people in the world around us today holds another essential key. However, knowledge in and of itself is useless, a collection of unused paint brushes resting on the world’s shelf. It is our job to pick up those brushes and start painting. The perfect portrait of peace begins within each one of us. It’s painted one brush stroke at a time. Here are some simple steps that we can all take to contribute to that portrait:
Take the time to learn about those who are different from us. Perhaps we could start with someone in our own family (We can find differences in opinions, race, religion, beliefs, customs, cultures, political affiliations, and the list goes on…):
- Listen to others
- Get to know them
- Let them get to know us
- Respect differences
- Look for commonalities
- Nurture relationships
- Offer and extend a helping hand
- Encourage others
- Enlist the help of others
- Give input and feedback
- Keep the conversation going
Working in the classroom as a teacher of students from diverse backgrounds, I learned first-hand that those who hold different beliefs from my own are all unique individuals with whom I have many things in common. We all share the same needs and desires, the same frustrations and fears, the same hopes and dreams. Whether students, parents, staff, volunteers, administrators or colleagues, I have gained respect for and have been deeply enriched by each encounter. Life-long relationships have been nourished and continue to blossom. The brush strokes to peace lie within each of us. How do we paint the canvas? One brush stroke at a time. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS: Listen, share ourselves and our ideas, respect those of others, look for commonalities. Our individual and collective lives will continue to be enriched as we work together to paint that perfect portrait of peace. We have the power to make it happen, one brush stroke at a time.
Wishing You a Happy and Peaceful New Year! —Bette A. Stevens
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- Peace (araparisien.wordpress.com)
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