quotations and passages on peace

Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith.

Pope John Paul II

I take it that what all people are really after is some form of,
perhaps only some formula of, peace.

James Conrad

Gerald Jampolsky

When we're helping other people, we're nourishing our soul.
Depression or unhappiness means we've got the wrong goal.
We have forgotten that peace of mind is our only goal.
By concentrating on helping another person, we renew contact
with our soul and with God. We can feel peaceful again. . . .
Peace of mind has nothing to do with the external world;
it has only to do with our connection with God. Love really is
the answer. We're here only to teach love. When we're doing that,
our souls are singing and dancing. When we remind ourselves
that we are spiritual beings, that life and love are the flame eternal,
that's when our soul is nourished.

The world will never
have lasting peace
so long as we reserve
for war the finest
human qualities.
Peace, no less than war,
requires idealism
and self-sacrifice and
a righteous and dynamic faith.

John Foster Dulles

I do not want the peace which passeth understanding,
I want the understanding which bringeth peace.

Helen Keller

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions,
slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.
And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, the pursuit must go on.

John F. Kennedy

if i could ask for any gift in the world, it would be peace. if i could ask for any gift for everyone in the world, it would be peace.

peace of mind, peace of heart, peace in relationships, peace in every land. if everyone in the world felt at peace with themselves, how much crime would we have? how much anger and frustration and violence? so many of the bad things in the world, even down to the person who makes fun of you or someone you know, are caused by a lack of peace, and it's hard to imagine what the world would be like if everyone felt peace.

i know that my perspective of the world has changed drastically since i've actually focused on making peace one of my highest priorities in my life. i do my best to find small pockets of peace, and i do my best not to let situations or people take my peace away from me--if someone angers me, he or she has robbed me of the feeling of peacefulness that i strive to maintain in my life.

i can't do it always--i've never expected to, and i never expect to. i'm human, and i'm going to let my peace of mind slip away from time to time. i'm going to worry about things like money and jobs and what's wrong with my car. i'm going to feel inferior to some people, i'm going to feel that i don't belong in certain situations, i'm going to beat myself up over something stupid that i'm going to say tomorrow or next week or next month. as i get better at maintaining peace, though, i'm not going to let things like that take my peace away. and i'm going to feel better because of it, and i'm going to be more effective at making others feel better, too.

one of the things that i always try to ask myself before i respond in situations in which i'm bound to overreact or react inappropriately is this: will my reaction contribute to the peace in the world, or will it contribute to the discontent and anger in the world? sometimes the answer makes me stop and not say what i meant to, and i always find that later, i'm much more at peace for not having said or done that something than i would have been had i said it or done it.

do you want to give a gift to the world? contribute to the peace in the world, and help others feel one of the most important feelings they'll ever feel. and don't forget to give it to yourself, too--you deserve it. peace be with you.

tdw

Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul;
we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain,
if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life
springs from acquiescence to, not in an exemption from, suffering.

Francois de Fenelon

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They are the happiest, be they kings or peasants,
who find peace in their homes.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The important thing to remember is that peace comes
from within your own heart and mind, not from
some outside source, and when you refuse
to be disturbed by things about you,
life will flood your being with dynamic energy.

Anonymous

Work is not always required of a person.
There is such a thing as sacred idleness,
the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected.

George MacDonald

Over all the mountaintops
Is peace.
In all treetops
You perceive
Scarcely a breath.
The little birds in the forest
Are silent.
Wait then; soon
You, too, will have peace.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Peace is the first thing the angels sang.
Peace is the mark of the children of God.
Peace is the nurse of love.
Peace is the mother of unity.
Peace is the rest of the blessed souls.
Peace is the dwelling place of eternity.

Leo the Great

I think that people want peace so much
that one of these days governments had better
get out of their way and let them have it.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

If we have no peace, it is because
we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

Mother Teresa

Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things,
we will not find peace.

Albert Schweitzer

Nothing can produce so great a serenity of life
as a mind free from guilt and kept untainted,
not only from actions, but purposes that are wicked.
By this means the soul will be not only unpolluted
but also undisturbed. The fountain will run
clear and unsullied.

Plutarch

Peace is self-control at its widest—at the width where the “self”
has been lost, and interest has been transferred to coordinations
wider than personality.

Alfred North Whitehead

There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.

A.J. Muste

The more we give up our hearts to God, to our vocations, and to others,
forgetful of ourselves and of that which belongs to us—the greater poise
we will acquire, until we reach peace, quiet, joy.

Alexander Yelchaninov

Patience is necessary in this life because so much of life is fraught
with adversity. No matter how hard we try, our lives will never be without
strife and grief. Thus, we should not strive for a peace that is without
temptation, or for a life that never feels adversity. Peace is not found
by escaping temptations, but by being tried by them. We will
have discovered peace when we have been tried and come
through the trial of temptation.

Thomas A Kempis

In your occupations, try to possess your soul in peace.
It is not a good plan to be in haste to perform any action
that it may be sooner over. On the contrary, you should
accustom yourself to do whatever you have to do with
tranquility, in order that you may retain the possession
of yourself and of settled peace.

Madame Guyon

The peaceful people that I've known in life have been
those who have most affected me in positive ways. I've
always admired the way they accept things that happen
without losing their peace of mind over them--if they
decide that something's bad, they simply resolve to do
something about it, and then they do that something.
Their peace doesn't leave them.

tom walsh

Peace comes from living a measured life. Peace comes
from attending to every part of my world in
a sacramental way. My relationships are not what
I do when I have time left over from my work. . . .
Reading is not something I do when life calms down.
Prayer is not something I do when I feel like it.
They are all channels of hope and growth for me.
They must all be given their due.

Joan D. Chittister

One of the basic points is kindness. With kindness, with love and compassion,
with this feeling that is the essence of brotherhood, sisterhood, one
will have inner peace. This compassionate feeling is the basis of inner peace.

the Dalai Lama

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see.
The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don't have to
travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to leave our city or even
our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe
can be a source of joy.

Thich Nhat Hanh

We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us,
that they may see their own images, and so live for a moment with
a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet.

William Butler Yeats

When you are proclaiming peace with your lips,
be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.

Francis of Assisi

When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world.

Maha Ghosananda

I have walked 25,000 miles as a penniless pilgrim. I own only what I wear
and what I carry in my small pockets. I belong to no organization. I have
said that I will walk until given shelter and fast until given food, remaining a
wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace. And I can truthfully
tell you that without ever asking for anything, I have been supplied with
everything needed for my journey, which shows you how good people really are.

With me I carry always my peace message: This is the way of peace: Overcome
evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love. There is nothing new
about this message, except the practice of it. And the practice of it is required not
only in the international situation but also in the personal situation. I believe that the
situation in the world is a reflection of our own immaturity. If we were mature,
harmonious people, war would be no problem whatever--it would be impossible.

All of us can work for peace. We can work right where we are, right within
ourselves, because the more peace we have within our own lives, the more we
can reflect into the outer situation. In face, I believe that the wish to survive
will push us into some kind of uneasy world peace which will then need to
be supported by a great inner awakening if it is to endure.

Peace Pilgrim