Review these quotes that illuminate the link between personal peace and peace in the world around us. Use what you learn to enrich your peacebuilding efforts, and to better communicate this link.
by Taylor O’Connor | 11 July 2024
Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
For we peacebuilders, there is a clear link between our ability to cultivate personal peace and our ability to build peace in the world around us.
In theory we understand this link, but we often neglect our personal wellbeing. Many of us struggle with burnout or are affected by the violence and heavy social issues we engage with. And we experience negative effects on our peacebuilding efforts.
I find also, that we peacebuilders are not very skilled in communicating this link to others. That is where I think it can be helpful to review quotes that do a good job in illuminating the linkages between personal peace and peace in the world around us.
So I’ve collected some quotes that can help. Read these quotes and reflect on the interaction between personal peace and peace in the world around you, particularly associated with your own efforts to build peace. And use them to both enrich your own live and peacebuilding efforts, and to better communicate this link.
Key messages in the quotes
While each quote is different, some patterns can be seen. Many quotes talk about how cultivating inner peace strengthens your ability to build peace in the world around you. Some focus on the negative qualities within ourselves that harm peace in the world around us, perhaps specifically referring to persons who are violent, aggressive or produce conflict.
Some also note how that if we want peace in our external world, we must first work on it in ourselves. Others make note of how our personal transformations can influence transformations in the world around us.
May you find some wisdom in these quotes to strengthen and inspire you in your efforts to build peace.
Quotes that link personal peace with world peace
Review these 14 quotes below that illuminate the link between personal peace and world peace.
“A large part of peace is genuinely wanting peace.” – Erasmus of Rotterdam (Philosopher, theologian, 1466 – 1536, Netherlands)
“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.” – Jawaharlal Nehru (Former Prime Minister of India, 1889 – 1964, India)
“Five enemies of peace inhabit with us–avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.” – Francesco Petrarca (Scholar and poet, 1304 – 1374, Italy)
“If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed — but hate these things in yourself, not in another.” – Mohandas Gandhi (Activist, lawyer, 1869 – 1948, India)
“Only when there are many people who are pools of peace, silence, and understanding, will war disappear.” – Osho (Philosopher, religious leader, 1931 – 1990, India)
“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.” – Francis of Assisi (Religious leader, 1181 – 1226, Italy)
“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.” – Peace Pilgrim (Peace activist, 1908 – 1981, USA)
“The life of ‘peace’ is both an inner journey toward a disarmed heart and a public journey toward a disarmed world. This difficult but beautiful journey gives infinite meaning and fulfillment to life itself because our lives become a gift for the whole human race. With peace as the beginning, middle, and end of life, life makes sense.” – John Dear (Religious leader, activist, author, 1959 – present, USA)
“When things are investigated, then true knowledge is achieved; when true knowledge is achieved, then the will becomes sincere; when the will is sincere, then the heart is set right (or then the mind sees right); when the heart is set right, then the personal life is cultivated; when the personal life is cultivated, then the family life is regulated; when the family life is regulated, then the national life is orderly; and when the national life is orderly, then there is peace in this world.” – Confucius (Philosopher, 551 – 479 BC, China)
“If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.” – Lao Tzu (Philosopher, 4th century BC, China)
“Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” – Albert Schweitzer (Theologian, humanitarian, medical doctor, 1875 – 1965, Germany and France)
“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.” – Etty Hillesum (Author, 1914 – 1943, Netherlands)
“Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa (Religious leader, 1910 – 1997, Ottoman Empire, Macedonia, India)
“First keep peace with yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.” – Thomas Kempis (Religious leader, author, 1380 – 1471, Roman Empire)
How do you link personal peace and world peace?
I hope these quotes are useful for you to understand the link between personal peace and world peace. May you use what you learned to strengthen your efforts to build peace. And may you use them to skillfully communicate the link between our personal peace and our ability to build peace in the world around us.
If you like this article, check out my other one that included many more peace quotes: 114 Quotes on Peace and Peacebuilding
Also, if you have a quote that you think I should add to this list, please CLICK HERE to share it with me.
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