PEACE PRACTICES
Choose peace as
your daily word
by Robert V. Taylor, author of A New Way to Be Human and
President of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation
T
o choose peace as your
daily word is a bold choice.
In a world where fear and
anxiety are the cherished
outcomes of bullies and terrorists,
their byproduct is instability and
chaos. Choosing peace as your word
signals your intention to be an
activator of life instead of a passive
bystander. More than a New Year’s
resolution, peace will shape and
impact everything you do and say.
Peace is commonly spoken of as
the absence of war or conflict, or living a life free of strife and discord. By
themselves such understandings are
shallow and ignore the richness and
complexity of peace. Choosing peace
30 IMAGINE l SPRING 2016
as your word for the year will reveal a
more robust and richer understanding
of peace.
I’ll offer you a taste of the richness
and liveliness the word peace invites
followed by three tools for making
your chosen word part of your daily
routine, as well as three key elements
to be sure to include in your practices.
The Greek and Roman idols of
peace were women often bearing a
horn of plenty or a torch of light and olive leaves. Within Judaism the Hebrew
word shalom has diverse meanings but
most often connotes an active striving
for the well-being of individuals and
society including economic, spiritual
and physical health. The Arabic sa-
laam is similarly more complex than
the English translation of peace and
for most Muslims, it includes seeking
prosperity and safety for all and a
commitment to friendliness. In both
the Jewish and Muslim traditions
shalom and salaam are used to greet
and bid farewell to people as if to bless
their prosperity, health and wholeness.
For many Christians Christ is the
Prince of Peace and he is typically
conjoined with images from Jewish
prophets like Isaiah and Micah. These
images include one in which the animal kingdom and human beings will
live peaceably and another of turning
weapons or ploughshares into instruments of peace or well-being. For
Buddhists the Four Noble Truths are
the path to detaching from greed and
fear because attachment to them is
believed to be the cause of all suffering and only when suffering ends
will we experience peace.
This is just scratching the surface!
Your exploration of peace as your
word might include the richness of
peace in other traditions, art, music or
literature. As you live with the word
peace each day you will be drawn to
exploring peace as much as you are to
reflecting and meditating on it.
Here are some tools for making
this a life-giving experience for you
and some ways to think about three
aspects of the word peace in your
daily life.
l Make your chosen word part of
your routine every day of the year.
Carve out small blocks of time to
reflect, meditate and think about your
chosen word each day. Make the word
visible to you when you wake up,
throughout your day and before sleep.
It could become your screensaver on