True peace

Peace Education in Practice What is peace? True peace

Levels of peace

Now that we have discovered positive and negative peace, let’s explore another way to look at peace: the concept of true peace. In this concept, peace is a combination of four different levels of peace.

Inner peace

Some see peace as harmony. Peace here means calmness. There is nothing that disturbs the world. There are no conflicts.
Some say that this harmony needs to start inside yourself: You need to have a peaceful state of mind. In this state, you have no desires, no efforts and your mind is calm.
The view of peace as harmony is often very present in language: To lead a “peaceful life” means to be at harmony. To “be at peace” means to have no conflict.

Peace with others

Peace should not only be within us but we need to learn how to act peacefully and build peaceful and harmonious relationships with others.
Becoming aware of who these “others” are in relation to us. Overcoming “othering”.
Becoming aware of values that shape us and drive our actions in order to act non-violently and communicate peace.
Do conflicts imply a lack of peace or do they make peace possible? Practicing non-violent conflict resolution.

Social and political peace

For peace to persist, we need to negotiate with each other to create and follow rules that allow us to be peaceful with each other.
Peace as a social contract keeps different powers in balance. And it can shift power to those that would otherwise not have it.
This is the basis for international treaties and the United Nations. Also states and governments are social contracts that are supposed to keep us peaceful.
However, also governments can be very violent – Hitler was voted democratically into power in Germany, murdered millions of people and started a brutal war.

Peace with nature and the environment

To live in peace is to be connected with nature, to respect and care for all living beings.
Peace with nature is also to be aware and grateful for what nature gives us: vital energy, food, water, materials, healing and happiness.
Nature provides examples and opportunities for being in peace and enjoying harmonious and blissful moments.
To live in a sustainable way means that we as human beings and the natural world coexist in peace and harmony, without destroying each other and degrading the planet and its resources.

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