"We often think of peace as the absence of war; that if the powerful countries would reduce their arsenals, we could have peace. But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds - our prejudices, fears, and ignorance.

Even if we transported all the bombs to the moon, the roots of war and the reasons for bombs would still be here, in our hearts and minds, and sooner or later we would make new bombs.

Seek to become more aware of what causes anger and separation, and what overcomes them. Root out the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully."

Thich Nhat Hanh

"What we most need to do it hear within ourselves
the sounds of the earth crying"

Thich Nhat Hanh

"This shall be a sign for you, a luminous sign of the serenity of your soul: on examining yourself, you will find yourself full of compassion for all humanity, and your heart is afflicted with pity for them, burning as though with fire, without making distinction between one person and another. "
St. Isaac of Syria

"I give praise to your holy Nature, Lord, for you have made my nature a sanctuary for your hiddenness and a tabernacle for your mysteries, a place where you can dwell, and a holy temple for your Divinity. "
St. Isaac of Syria

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. "
St. Francis de Sales

"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace! Where there is hatred let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon. "
Saint Francis de Sales (St Francis of Assisi)

"Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are thousands of ways to kneel and kiss the earth"

Rumi

"...with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings; radiating kindness over the entire world."

The Buddha

"Giving to others selflesly and anonymously, radiating light throughout the world and illuminating your own darkness, your virtue becomes a sanctuary for yourself and all beings."
Lao tzu (570-490 BC)

'The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.'
Helen Keller

"Nature is man's teacher.
She unfolds her treasure to his search,
unseals his eye,
illumes his mind,
and purifies his heart;
and influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence"

Alfred Billings Street (1811-1881)

" We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Viktor Frankl

This quote is very humbling when we think of the sad state of the world with greed and oppression. It reminds me that we can choose love and compassion in all circumstances.

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.

St. Francis of Assisi

"One is dearest to God who has no enemies among the living beings, who is nonviolent to all creatures."

Bhagavad Gita

"True compassion is more than throwing a coin to a beggar. It demands of our humanity that if we live in a society that produces beggars, we are morally commanded to restructure that society."
Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968)

"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."
Albert Schweitzer, French Nobel Peace Prize-winning mission doctor and theologian (1875-1965)