Judith Ashley

#PeaceMatters and The World

How do you, a single person, impact the violence in the world?

The answer is the same as last week but at a different level.

First: Live a life of peace.

Second: Talk about peace. You can have conversations with friends, family, neighbors, etc. Write letters to the editor. Mount a campaign on Social Media.

I listened to a news analyst quote a statistic the other day that said people who are active on social media tend to be more angry than people who are less active or not active at all. If you are on social media – make sure there is a message of the benefits of peace in your words. Another way to phrase this is that those people who are angriest are also active on social media.

Third: Support others who promote peace. You may want to like or retweet their post. Comment on their blog. Vote for them in an election.

Fourth: Put yourself out there! Write that blog or other social media venue post.  Be a model in your family, neighborhood and community. Run for election.

Fifth: Don't give in to fear! Those who are instigators of violence often do so because they want us to be fearful. To give them power over us because we are afraid. There are very few, if any, situations that cannot be resolved if all parties want a peaceful solution.

If everyone who says they want peace (and that is the majority of people in the world if one is to believe the polls) takes responsibility for our own peaceful lives, the world must become a more peaceful place.

I grant you, it isn’t easy. Recently a militia took over a wildlife refuge in my home state of Oregon. It was disconcerting to see them with guns strapped everywhere and talking in what to me were hostile tones and words. Initially I thought how dare they! They aren’t even Oregonians! And what about my rights? Don’t I have the right to feel safe?

It wasn’t easy and it took several hours but eventually I was able to send positive thoughts that the siege would end peacefully and that the protesters would seek legal ways to promote their position. I internally acknowledged that sometimes it is difficult to withdraw when we know our position is not in the majority and we’ll never “win”.

But that’s part of living in a democracy! If you see the movie “An American President” with Michael Douglas and Annette Benning airing, watch it. Watch to the end when Michael as President Andrew Shepard makes a speech before the White House press corp. 

I won’t quote verbatim although I’ve seen the movie so often I could! He talks about how America is Advanced Citizenship and notes that Democracy isn’t easy. I do believe that speech, while written in the 1990’s, is pertinent to the world we live in today.

Living a peaceful life because #PeaceMatters isn’t easy but now more than at any point in my life time, it is important.

Please share your thoughts, comments and perspective. I truly do want to know.

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, contemporary romantic fiction that honors spiritual practices that nurture the soul. 

Judith also posts the first Monday of the month at Romancing The Genres.

You can follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s website and her Windtree Press author page.

Judith also is on Facebook. Here’s the link.