International Day of Peace
Everyday when I go to work, my mom tells me, “Have a good day, son.” Today was different. When I was saying goodbye to her this morning she came to the gate with me and said, “Be careful, OK?” Just go to you office and come back straight home, she said. September 21st was like any other day normal day in Jalalabad. Most of the time, when there is a national or international day of celebration and there are officials giving talks and messages, it turns into a tragedy. Sometimes, I think we make this day of peace, love and harmony more danger prone by ourselves by celebrating it with our so called “officials” and “leaders”. The International Day of Peace is a day that all human beings around the world can be in a state of mind with peace, love and a smile on their face with absolute lack of violence. People celebrate this day with their loved ones and like-minded people get together and celebrate it in their own way. There is no need for ribbon cutting and talks and messages from “peace leaders”, et. al. The UN has declared this day as a day of cessation of all hostilities among all individuals, groups, and nations. Unfortunately, we still hear news of killings and explosions and suicides on this day of peace. Mahatma Gandhi teaches in one of his top teachings for bringing about world peace: “Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.” Let’s pay respect and salute to all of those people who have made (and are making) efforts to bring about world peace.