We will have to want peace, want it enough to pay for it, before it becomes an accepted rule.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt’s words really resonate on this anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, one of so many in human history. Think of Pearl Harbor. Think of Germany’s Gypsy, Homosexual, Jewish Holocaust. Think of the decimation of this hemisphere’s first people.
A 100,000 year war waged by our species now leaves us without another. See How Neanderthals and Humans Battled. Also see The Neanderthals War. While wars between humans have been brief by comparison, the longest include:
- The 781-year-long Christian invasion of the Iberian Peninsula
- The 681-year-long Greco-Roman vs. Persian [Iran] battles
- The 675-year-long Byzantine-Bulgarian wars in the Balkans
- The 602 years, five months, one week and four days of the Christian Crusades
- Here’s More Whew!
Mrs. Roosevelt believed, ”The basis of world peace is the teaching which runs through almost all the great religions of the world. Love thy neighbor as thyself.” And some have also, historically advocated the conquest and killing of those viewed as different.
Eleanor Roosevelt asked, “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” Personal peace is a start. What if more and more:
- Resisted guilt.
- Didn’t compare themselves to others.
- Challenged their ‘musts’ and converted ‘shoulds’ to ‘coulds.’
- Took breaks from the hustle-bustle and visited tranquil places.
- See More Ways to Find Peace of Mind and Inner Calm.
Predator-Prey is Earth’s MO [Modus Operandi, Method of Operating]. All animals and some plants kill other living things to live. That said, here’s a thought [illustrated in part by playing the original Super Mario]:
What if Earth’s kill-or-be-killed conditions are a kind of test, a puzzle? What if a blissful after life is the reward for figuring out how to create on Earth all that’s promised in heaven, Eden, Paradise? What if Earth is, as some suggest, Purgatory where failure-flunking requires a re-do?
Here’s another question: What price would you pay for more peace?
Succeed and Soar!
Remember
September 11 is also “Make Your Bed Day”
September 12 is Grandparents Day
September 15 is International Day of Democracy
September 17 is National Constitution Day
Image by pikepicture
Eleanor’s Insights Collection
Succeed and Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” series is illustrated with photographs of ‘wild places.’
Art is available as prints, framed and on canvas as well as on journals, greeting cards, weekender bags, shower curtains, puzzles and much more.
