Peacemaking

Peacemaking means nurturing harmony between individuals or groups of people. Peacemaking begins internally, with a hunger for peace and a basic assumption that the other party is an ordinary person or group with ordinary wants and needs, just like us. Peacemaking grows from the humble suspicion that our own perspective is limited and that there are truths we can discover if we listen. It requires flexibility of thought, a willingness to see many sides of an issue, to imagine ourselves in the situation of another party.

The greatest barrier to peacemaking is fear. Fear makes us see ourselves as victims or potential victims and blinds us to the harm that we ourselves have done or the threat we pose to others. Embracing peacemaking doesn't mean that we always avoid conflict, but we recognize its real costs and weigh those costs as if they would be borne by ourselves and our loved ones. Peacemaking is a journey as well as destination.