The concept of “peace” is similar to that of “love”. Is there anyone who does not desire love and want to be able to love? And are there people who do not long for peace and see peace as the greatest good?
But, as Erich Fromm asked himself in his timelessly topical book “The Art of Loving”, why is there so little love in the world when we all want it so much? And we can also ask ourselves why we live in a world full of war on a large and small scale, and why does a mood creep into the atmosphere that seeks to stifle the question and desire for peace?
Erich Fromm’s illuminating insights on the question of love include the following: “Most people see the problem of love primarily as the problem of being loved themselves, instead of loving and being able to love.”
And further: “I would like to convince the reader that all his attempts to love must fail unless he actively tries to develop his whole personality and thus succeeds in becoming productive… .”
Peace requires activity. A person who longs for peace, creates peace and radiates peace is an active person. Longing and desire alone are not enough. In the 1980s there was an active peace movement with the motto “Creating peace without weapons”. I would like to preface all considerations on peace with another thought. Without weapons, but with what then? What means are available to us for peace work?
My suggestion would be: “Create peace with the tool of consciousness – think peace, feel peace, live peace.”
The free and independent thinker
Spinoza - an early peacemaker"Peace is not the absence of war. Peace is a virtue, a state of mind, an inclination towards goodness, trust, justice." As part of my interest in peacemaking processes and personalities, I received this email from a reader. The above quote...
Promoting peace in a different way – a look at nature
Do we need a peace movement in these times when people are taking to the streets again?Absolutely.Do we need diplomacy and dialog between countries at war?Absolutely.Do we need efforts to engage in direct personal exchange with other countries, cultures and ethnic...
Traveling for a country – Romania
Impressions of a peace-promoting travel culture In the very early days of 2025, we, nine members of the Healing Research Kitchen in northern Italy, decided to set off on a 6-day trip together. This was preceded by a year of intensive collegial and friendly...
Content-related and artistic work for peace
From 16.12.2024 to 1.1.2025, the so-called "Artists' Days" took place at the Free College of Spirituality in northern Trentino. Above the municipality of Comano Terme, in the mountains, lies the small village of Lundo and half an hour's walk up through the forest to...
A Russian-German peace project – MIR
In the opening credits of this engaging film, the artists describe their mission with the words: "Our goal is simple - to maintain friendly relations between the civil societies of our countries."
Let our weapons be weapons of the spirit, not tanks and bullets
The first contribution on the subject of peace is an old one, from 1932. Its author is Albert Einstein, who wrote a letter to Sigmund Freund. In it, he writes that he is a militant pacifist. One who fights for peace. A highly current letter, with the request - "Let...