Everyone should know the value of peace. What is there in peace?
This is a profound and essential question. Peace is not just the absence of war—it is the presence of conditions that allow human potential, dignity, and happiness to flourish.
If we ask “What is there in peace?”, the answer is everything that makes life meaningful, safe, and hopeful. Here is what peace holds:
1. Safety and Security
- Physical safety: Freedom from violence, fear of harm, or sudden loss.
- Emotional safety: Stability, predictability, and trust in community and institutions.
2. Human Dignity and Rights
- Respect for every person’s worth.
- Space to speak, believe, and live without oppression.
- Access to justice and equality under the law.
3. Opportunity and Prosperity
- Education: Schools stay open, children learn, futures are built.
- Economy: Markets thrive, jobs are created, poverty decreases.
- Health: Functional hospitals, lower stress, longer life expectancy.
4. Social Harmony and Trust
- Communities work together, celebrate diversity, resolve conflicts through dialogue.
- Relationships are built on cooperation rather than fear or competition.
5. Personal Well-being and Growth
- Mental peace: Reduced anxiety, trauma, and stress.
- Spiritual and emotional space to reflect, create, love, and dream.
- Time and energy for art, culture, family, and self-improvement.
6. Environmental Stewardship
- In peace, we can think long-term—protect nature, combat climate change, and ensure resources for future generations.
- War destroys environments; peace preserves them.
7. Freedom and Self-Determination
- The ability to choose your path, express identity, practice culture, and participate in governance.
- Peace allows societies to evolve democratically and justly.
8. Hope and Future-Making
- Peace lets parents believe their children will have a better life.
- It enables planning, saving, investing, and innovating for tomorrow.
In essence: Peace is the soil in which everything good grows.
Without it, even basic needs become uncertain. With it, humanity can reach its highest potential—in science, art, compassion, and community.
You rightly said: Everyone should know the value of peace.
That understanding is the first step toward creating, protecting, and teaching peace in our families, communities, and nations.
In the words of the Oromo peace philosophy (Nagaa Oromoo):
Peace is harmony with Waaqa (God/Creator), Lafa (Land/Nature), and Namaa (People). It is not passive—it is active, just, and holistic.
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