What is a Warrior for Peace?
A Warrior for Peace knows that war and peace are not just about armies and treaties. War can be anywhere and everywhere–whether between countries, people, or even thoughts battling in our head. A war zone is any arena of fear, where we get a whiff of our fragility and mortality -wherever we feel a lack of security, under attack, or threatened, whenever we feel pressured, stressed or overwhelmed.
Even if we are one of those lucky souls who does not experience war in his personal life, we are experiencing it on a greater, collective level. One could argue that humanity as a whole is in the midst of a quasi-war, where the attacks and weapons against it are lethal. Take, for example, the global economic meltdown, environmental degradation, terrorism, non-renewable energy depletion, infectious diseases, wars, refugee crises, nuclear proliferation.
In our globalized world, in which we are all inter-connected, inter-dependent, inter-laced, and inter-twined, there is no more extra-. Hiding from these battles and running the other way is no longer an option, since every single battle affects every single person.
The battle to demonstrate peace on a personal, inner level, as well as an outer, global level is a deeper concept of war. Muslims call this the greater and lesser jihad, which means struggle, and, fittingly, describe the greater jihad as the struggle over oneself. Warrior for Peace Ahmed Naji from Iraq, described it this way, “The peace in the world (the outer peace) can not be initiated unless there is the essential peace within each one of us. I come from Iraq, a country that rarely saw peace. Today as every other day, Iraqis struggle to keep the peace within.”
Warriors for Peace are alert, vigilant individuals who do not view the enemy as individual persons. Instead, they see the enemy as ignorance, intolerance, hatred, and greed. The Warrior for Peace knows that complacency towards these attitudes and states of thought only encourages conflict, death and destruction. A WFP is never passive as he/she seeks to elevate the world through small gestures and large acts – which, taken together, can bring about the deep-rooted change from which we all can benefit.
Join our on-line discussion about Warrior qualities. Add your own and rate others.
As we each fight our inner and outer battles, we become true warriors-for peace.
We embody that rare combination of inward and outward fortitude.
We express courage, strength, discipline, and persistence.
We are willing to sacrifice.
We are intelligent and learn from our so-called enemies.
We are focused, and eschew distractions.
We know what we are fighting for. We believe in the cause, and we never give up.
We see that the real battle is overcoming evil with good in whatever form it appears.
