International Day of Peace on September 21, 2006

This Thursday, September 21 2006, is the International Day of Peace, adopted back in 1981 by the United Nations. There are lots of events going on and you can be a part of the festivities to create a more peaceful world. There are peace vigils, protests, organized civil disobedience, peace rallies, film festivals, music, pinwheels and teach-ins. Or just sit in a grassy park and mediate on how you can help make the world a more peaceful place. If your in the Denver area come celebrate peace by defying war, and see Robert Greenwald, Producer/Director and David Mann, SPC US Army speak after the Denver premier of the documentary Iraq For Sale.

So why have an International Peace Day? Well the question really should be, why isn’t it everyday, but conflict exists and for centuries we have attacked these conflicts head on in negative ways. Well thankfully for Gandhi, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mather Luther King and all the other visionaries of peace, there are ways to collectively organize non-violent solutions. Perhaps the most fitting quote about such a day of peace comes from Gandhi, who would have praised the day, but cautioned: “Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseperable of our very being.” It is truly unbelievable how much violence is in the world when we have so many teachers living and deceased around us sharing words of wisdom with the intent of peace.

Even though peace should be a part of our everyday life, take the day, September 21, to really reflect on what in means to live at peace with yourself and the world. Violence is a downward spiral of which the further we fall, the harder it is to climb back up the moutain of peace.

• www.PeaceOneDay.org
• www.WorldPeace.org
• www.InternationalDayOfPeace.org
• United Nations Peace Education
  
• Download Free UC Berkeley Webcourse on Non-Violence