Let there be peace on Earth. This is what most of us wish to live a life free from wars, violence and conflicts. However, we often forget that peace must start from within. It is something that we have to work from inside ourselves, not something we want to receive from others. In other words, peace is made and shared, not wished and received.
We have known how the countries of the world make wars in the past. We have witnessed how our neighbors fight each other to get what they want. We have also experienced how we battle our own problems and anxieties to maintain inner peace. War or peace, chaos or order – they are states in our lives that we have to deal with continuously.
As we should not stop seeking peacefulness, we have to keep inspiring ourselves to make it. Here are 35 quotes that will inspire you to make peace, not only outside, but also within.
1. “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” – Buddha
2. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein
3. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
4. “Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method that rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” – Martin Luther King
5. “More than just an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
6. “Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is a beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is life, fight for it.”– Unknown
7. “To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness” – Robert Muller
8. “Peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.” – John F. Kennedy
9. “Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and through humane ways.” – Dalai Lama XIV
10. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
11. “I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war… But we have no more urgent task.” – John F. Kennedy
12. “The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
13. “War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong; and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses.” – Thomas Jefferson
14. “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” – Nelson Mandela
15. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” – Albert Einstein
16. “If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another.” – Winston Churchill
17. “We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.” – William Ewart Gladstone
18. “Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one” – John Lennon
19. “Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa
20. “If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” – Desmond Tutu
21. “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
22. “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix
23. “There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” – A.J. Muste
24. “Peace is its own reward.” – Mahatma Gandhi
25. “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” – John Lennon
26. “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa
27. “We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.” – William Gladstone
28. “The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
29. “Human Beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom.” – Dalai Lama
30. “It is possible to live in peace.” – Mahatma Gandhi
31. “Peace may sound simple – one beautiful word – but it requires everything we have, every quality, every strength, every dream, every high ideal.” – Yehudi Menuhin
32. “Peace is every step.” – Thich Nhat Hahn
33. “Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.” – Daisaku Ikeda
34. “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” – Fannie Lou Hamer
35. “Peace is costly but it is worth the expense” – African proverb
There you have it! I hope the quotes I listed above help you find peace of mind and remind you to make peace with whoever you got trouble with. Peace can be a way of reconciliation but there has to be unity and love for a feeling of lasting peace.
