Today, September 21st, we celebrate the International Day of Peace across the globe.
2020 Theme: Shaping Peace Together
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
This year, it has been clearer than ever that we are not each other’s enemies. Rather, our common enemy is a tireless virus that threatens our health, security and very way of life. COVID-19 has thrown our world into turmoil and forcibly reminded us that what happens in one part of the planet can impact people everywhere.
In March, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and focus on the battle against this unprecedented global pandemic. While the message is intended for armed parties, solidarity and cooperation across borders, sectors and generations are also needed to win this new fight against the worst public health crisis of our time.
For the United Nations, 2020 was already meant to be a year of listening and learning. To mark its 75th anniversary, the UN has invited millions of people worldwide to join UN75, the largest and furthest-reaching global conversation on building the peaceful and prosperous future that we want.
As we struggle to defeat COVID-19, your voice is more important than ever. In these difficult times of physical distancing, this International Day of Peace will be dedicated to fostering dialogue and collecting ideas. The world will be invited to unite and share thoughts on how to weather this storm, heal our planet and change it for the better. Even though we may not be able to stand next to each other, we can still dream together.
The 2020 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Shaping Peace Together.” Celebrate the day by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred. Join us so that we can shape peace together. Source: https://www.un.org/
Be inspired by the poetry of Jo Ann Wenner
It is a day to remember our shared humanity and our call to move beyond all perceived differences among us, and between us. On this day of days, may we commit ourselves to the cultivation of a living “Culture of Peace.”
At this moment in our shared history, we seem to have forgotten how and where to find peace and how to co-create peace in our shared lives. We have become entrenched in opposition and division. We seem unable to recognize in ourselves and others our sacred calling to peace.
Peace has become elusive.
And the strange thing about it, really, the mystery of it, is that peace lives within us as a grace given us for taking on this human existence. Pushed aside, peace lives on at our edges, waiting to be called forth and to once again find its own resident rhythm at the center of our lives.
I believe peace is an active state of being, a sustained and thoughtful movement from within – over and over, again and again. Peace must live in an internal dialogue before it becomes external. It necessitates continuous adjustments and iterations. It thrives when paired with reflection and forgiveness.
Peace calls us forth to sit at its hearth and feel its fire. It invokes our awakening and offers its transformative energy, its eternal flame, its healing waters.
It calls us home.
When Peace Feels Elusive
When peace feels elusive,
Seek it at the edges of your mind.
At the edges of all things that imprison you,
Seek it where you are held hostage to fear,
To anger,
To an abandonment that leaves you in a seething current of hatred,
In tide pools of loneliness,
In the knowledge of the battering oppression of being
Unseen,
Unheard,
Unloved.
When peace feels elusive,
Seek it at the edges of your heart,
Where you have pushed it aside
Seeking refuge
Beaten and discarded as scraps without value
Left to drown in pools of hurt and pain
Silenced by names put upon you to wrench you from the promise of Love.
Names that have no purpose but to rob you of your own, precious name,
Beloved.
When peace feels elusive,
Seek it at the edges of your soul.
In sanctuary from being
Hushed and trampled upon
A refuged knowledge of yourself
Of who you are.
Of who you came here to be.
When peace feels elusive,
Seek it along all your edges
For here, it lies.
Waiting to be acknowledged as it whispers and calls,
“Look here.”
“Look here.”
“Look here.”
When peace feels elusive,
Coax it.
Shout its name.
Call it home from all its edges.
Sing Peace into the smoldering fire in your belly.
Into the unceasing beat of your heart.
Give homage to its Light within you and around you.
Fuel its flame.
Call upon its redemptive waters.
May peace breathe in and out of you.
May peace wash over you and through you.
May peace find you in your every breath,
In its holy inhalation and exhalation,
May peace bless you.
May peace provide its blessings to everyone and to everything you encounter.
Let there be Peace on Earth, and let it begin within.
– Jo Ann
All information, content, and material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. The information supplied through or on this page, or by any representative or agent of The Wellness Universe, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or other professional advice. Health-related information provided through this website is not a substitute for medical advice and should not be used to diagnose or treat health problems or to prescribe any medical devices or other remedies. The Wellness Universe reserves the right to remove, edit, move or close any content item for any reason, including, but not limited to, comments that are in violation of the laws and regulations formed pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. None of the posts and articles on The Wellness Universe page may be reprinted without express written permission.
The best books for your best life are The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care series. Each filled with 25 tools for your best well-being shared by doctors, therapists, and coaches who believe in holistic, natural ways to be your healthiest and happiest you!
Join The Wellness Universe Book Club to connect with authors, ask questions, engage in wonderful, inspiring conversation, and more. Free to join!
Jo Ann Wenner, MS, MA-T, is the owner and founder of Prism Holistic Coaching and Consulting, a Holistic Coach, Reiki Master Practitioner, Teacher, Intuitive, and Spiritual Guide. Jo Ann expertly guides her clients through life’s difficult transitions into transformation and transcendence
