5 Simple Things You Can Do Today for World Peace
Sometimes, the simplest things can make the biggest difference in life
The Work of Peace
“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”— Eleanor Roosevelt
The Oxford (Lexico) Dictionary defines work as an “Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”
It’s interesting how this definition does not involve whether or not one is paid for the effort one performs. It also does not say whether one is recognized or rewarded for accomplishing the purpose one has set.
Work then could be any task we do to achieve a desired goal or end. And while there are many kinds of work we could do, I think one of the most important tasks at hand is the priceless work of helping achieve world peace.
Peace in a world that has fallen into various catastrophes .Peace in a world that’s quickly succumbing to all kinds of hatred.
There is no better day than today for this kind of peace and this kind of work.
But Where Are The Heroes?
While we may all agree about how important the work of peace could be, we may quickly dismiss it thinking that other people are better suited for this type of work. We look for the political leaders and the influential men. We look for spiritual giants and saints. We even look for celebrities and idols who could somehow become ambassadors for this great work of peace.
“Some other men could do it, so why should I bother?” we often tell ourselves. And we go on with our lives, trying to make a living, complaining now and then about how the world should be run.
We talk a lot about how things should be, about how our leaders should work. And sometimes, we wonder where the true heroes have been hiding all along.
Where are they when the world needs them? What are they doing to make this world a better place?
We ask so many questions, but we seem to forget the most important one: “Is there something I could do today to help achieve world peace?”
An Impossible Task
We often forget to ask because we think we could do so little. There is so much to be done, and if those great men couldn’t do anything, what could we even do about it? Doesn’t it seem to be an impossible task?
And so we make several excuses starting with how little time we have to how many problems we’re already dealing with. We just can’t see ourselves contributing even a tiny drop to quench the world’s thirst for peace.
But if you and I couldn’t do anything, how could we ever hope for peace?
The Simple Things That We Can Do
We may not do much, but I firmly believe that we can do something. We may not accomplish everything, but we could start somewhere. This is our world, after all. And this will still be the world where our children would be.
We don’t need to begin with complicated things. We can start with the simplest of tasks, works so small we can accomplish one today.
Here are 5 things you can do today for world peace:
1. Smile
We often underestimate what a simple smile can do, but studies show how smiling can affect the world around us. Did you know that when you smile, other people can’t help but smile back at you?
A sincere smile can bring warmth and joy. It can help create a friendly atmosphere that lessens hostility and antagonism.
Through a smile, we see the face of someone who is opening up to us, who is welcoming us and seeing us as another human being.
2. Love Your Family
“In our day we see with growing clarity that the sorrows of the world have their origin in the family.”
“Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”
- Mother Teresa
We can always look elsewhere when we start the work for peace. We can think of the sick, the dying, the poor children who have nothing to eat. But if we fail to find the people who need our love at home, then we have also failed in our work for peace.
The people we live with may not say it, but they need our love the most. These people can also be workers of peace, but how could they even start if they don’t feel loved and appreciated at home?
Love your partner and your children. Love your parents and the elderly who live with you. Start your work of peace there. By spreading peace in your home and the lives of the people around you, you may just find the peace you’ve been looking for within.
3. Make Room for Silence
I think there can be no peace without first listening to each other. And how could we listen unless we first learn to make room for silence?
Silence is not the same as peace, but peace can begin with silence. In silence, we begin to understand other people. In silence, we take the time to pause, to refrain from our anger, to give everyone the chance to grasp the situation and to think about the options available with a clear mind.
For those who are religious, silence is needed to stand before God and to hear His voice. It is the kind of silence that allows one to pray not only for oneself but for the other, even for one’s enemies. This is the kind of silence that is the prelude to peace.
4. Learn to Sacrifice
We can’t perform any successful work without learning how to make a sacrifice. This is all the more true in one’s work for peace.
To achieve peace, one must learn to think not only about one’s benefits and one’s comforts. One must think about the good of others and one must be ready to make the necessary sacrifice for the sake of the greater good.
We must keep in mind, however, that the sacrifices that may be required from us don’t necessarily have to be the big things. While some can go as far as sacrificing their own lives, many of us are being called to make those little sacrifices that can yield a big difference in the end.
We can sacrifice our comfort as we go out of our way to help someone in need. We can sacrifice some of our time to listen to a troubled friend. We can sacrifice some of our pride for the sake of making a relationship work.
“Prayer joined to sacrifice constitutes the most powerful force in human history.” — Pope John Paul II
5. Never Forget Your Humanity
Let us remember that we always have a choice. Even if there is utter chaos around you, and even if other people behave in such a way that they forget kindness and compassion and mercy, keep in mind that you can still act differently. You can still practice goodness.
In the worst of situations, let us remember that we can still be human; we can still look at other people with a merciful heart.
Final Words
More than ever, I’d like to believe that this is the time to work for peace. We need not be in positions of power or great influence. We need not be superheroes.
There are simple things we can do today to make a difference in other people’s lives. Very simple things that won’t even take much of our time. But within those simple things are gestures of kindness and compassion, of respect and understanding. These are the things we can use to tear down the walls that divide us and to steadily build for us a firm foundation for peace.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”— Desmond Tutu
Jocelyn Soriano works full-time as a Catholic writer to share the word of God and invite everyone to take refuge in God’s truth and love.
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