Lesson 1. A HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF PEACE AND VIOLENCE CONTENTS Activity PEACE be with you? Fill in the circles of the terms related to the word PEACE. Using the words listed, create your definition of PEACE. Love & serenity Healthy relations hip Secured well-being PEACE Equality Freedom My own definition PEACE Peace means living in a condition of serenity and love, constructing a civilization of trust, compassion, and mercy with other people. It is accepting diversity and looking for equality instead of prejudice. It means everyone has the right to be respected which they are born to. And to pay respect to equal human rights and to every human being, regardless of the differences in religion, social class, beliefs and culture. It is freedom to be whoever you wanted to be. By having no fear of what the others will think of your choices, the way you act or the way you behave. It is standing with what you believe in. It also means that people have a secure place to call their own. That is why, laws are created based on the needs of the members of the nation to have equal opportunities as a social being and equal possibility of growing with dignity in the place he lives in. Furthermore, peace is having a healthy relationship with an absence of war or conflict and has the presence of the elements of understanding, patience, and forgiveness that leads to personal growth. Analysis • Why do we need peace? Because everyone deserves it as an individual and a member of society. We all wanted this so-called peace holistically through having a secured and safety needs, healthy well-being (peace of mind) safe place or environment where we can call it a home filled with love and acceptance. If one person cannot able to experience this altitude of peace in an environment he lives in, there are possibility that he may leads to anxiety, mentally illness or death. • Is there a reason to fear when there is no peace? Yes, the absence of peace can make someone fell under a cage of loneliness, deprivation, hopelessness, worrisome or worst death. In serious cases, it can lead to another war which will tear the nations and leads again to millions of death. Peace is the hope and battlecry of every nation, the promise of every leader, and the rhythm of every religious tradition. It is what we need, an ultimate response to the violence and conflicts of our world. • How do you find your own place right now? I could say that I am exactly in peace; Peace as a state of mind where I found a real home inside my imagination and reality that made me feel loved and honored for who I am. But in my country, peace is still what I am hoping to find. Application Make an acrostic of the word PEACE based on what you’ve learned in the lesson. Personal peace, an essential need; also means Eradication of all facets of injustice And peace may have positive and negative Containing just relationships Especially absence of conflict Assessment Reflect on the quote. Answer the questions below. “We must bring love and compassion to the world today. We don’t need guns and bombs to do this.” – Mother Theresa Choose 2 words that are important to you from the quote. Explain why? Love and compassion are the integral elements the world must have today. It is through love that we are able to set forth peace on this chaotic world by being the light in the eyes of hopeless people. It is through love that we can able to accept each and any one of us instead of spreading hate and bigotry. It is through love that we can able to help one another by extending our hands in building one’s life regardless of gender, race, religion, political beliefs and culture. And with love comes compassion. It is through compassion that we can able to sympathize those who are suffering due to illnesses, huge loss, war, separation or any traumatic events by allowing them to feel that the world albeit broken is still beautiful and there are so many reasons to live life to the fullest, nevertheless. How does the quote affect your daily life? It inspiringly affects me internally, realizing that peace can still be solved without the need of guns or bombs. Love and compassion are the prevailing solution that used in the past, present and in the future. And it starts in our very own household, our families. War is the most absurd thing in the world for me. Leaders from the past used guns and bombs to gain power and aiming to be on top as their way of protecting their nation. Thus, they had given too much effort in defending their lands. However, war is never about gaining and protection, because if it was, it could be executed peacefully by mutual agreement. By focusing on providing a secured place, they failed to provide a secured well-being to members of the nation who are dying every day, suffering from poverty and starvation. If they would only give these defenseless people with food, shelter, and clothing, I think the world is a better place to live. By love and compassion as my two keys in life, I believe I can be the part of the change on this world even in my own simple ways. Lesson 2. TYPES OF VIOLENCE AND PROMOTION OF PEACE Activity • Draw the violence tree. • On the roots and trunk, write the causes of violence. On the leaves, write the effects of violence. Physical injury Death Suicide attempts Mental distress and reduced quality of life Negative health outcomes Depression Developing fear and anxiety reactions Sleep disorders and Posttraumatic stress disorder Disempowerment and oppression Low self-esteem High emotional distress Poor behavioral control Affiliation with organized crime Use of alcohol and drugs Anger and Prejudice Possession of weapons Mental Illness History of early aggressive behavior Insufficient Parental Supervision What is violence for you? For me, violence is an act of physically hurting or abusing someone intentionally with the use of any power, force or weapons resulting in short term or long term injuries, psychological harm, sexual abuse or even death. • Why is it continuing despite the effort? I think it lies more in nurture than nature. Violence is hard to abolish in this world perhaps, due to the influence of media. Kids from their homes have seen how doing violence can be classified as powerful in this world, and without parental supervision they often grow up and most likely become part of it and do crime. It can be also because of the environment he lives in, where he was exposed into a family which violence is an act of discipline, then more in more a kid would grow old taking the same path and behavior. People can also do violent things because of deficiency in financial needs and mental support. Analysis How can you counter it as an individual or group? As an individual, I will practice stoicism. It is by recognizing first that anger, as what I have learned from ancient stoics, is a destructive emotion and root of all violence. I will calm myself first then settling an argument with words, not fists or weapons. And If I will about to experience sign of abuses or violence, I will report it immediately to the police, school authorities, to my parents or friends. As a group, I will get involved to make my community safer and better – by having social media campaign against violence, settling class and dispute peacefully and encouraging my peers to not be afraid in reporting any suspicious actions in order to avoid being victims of violence. Application Write a prayer for children and women who are victims of violence based on the peace culture framework. Almighty God, King of the universe, God of Peace, whom in the beginning and in the end, thank you for creating this beautiful world into your own image and likeness. The humanity had been evolved so much that caused brink of conflicts toward each other. Heavenly God, who is close to those who are weak, loss and oppressed, bring forth your comfort unto all of them. I pray for my own family and of other’s, that in home we will all found peace. And that no other child can experience brokenness anymore as the home will be replaced with Your love and peace inside, so we can together grow in your glory. I pray for people who are suffering from human rights violation, women whose victims of assault and of toxic patriarchy that still linger today. May you serve justice for the defenseless or oppressed people and the LGBT community that are still judge by the world. I pray for the Leaders and elites that their hearts will be touched so that that they will be compassionate to help the deprived brothers and sisters in combating starvation. That these poor people’s voices may hear by the government and can able to live a life without worrying too much of the basic needs of tomorrows. I pray that other nations or groups will become more responsive to the needs of others, and that all the leaders will ignite to help each other especially during this pandemic. I pray for the solid brotherhood and solidarity which would bind us all, because we belong in this world together under Your name. I pray for the disarmament and ending the opposition that there would be mutual agreement peacefully that don’t need the use of guns and bombs. That they may learn the lessons of the past, and put an end to nuclear weapons. I pray for the healing and rebuilding of communities that torn apart by these war and violence. I pray for the people that they would treat the environment as a beautiful creation of Yours that needs to be loved and cared. And that business owners and leaders won’t abuse the land for their own selfish desires, but will see to it that it won’t lead into chaos that would causes havoc both to the environment and to the inhabitants living on it. Assessment How do you feel about people who are ex-convict or having been imprisoned because of violence. Choose two situations and explain your answer. They should be guided in doing some things. Someone who had been causing violence from his past obviously had problems and issues within himself. They need help from loved one or a professional’s help. A people who can guide them as they discover their selves and building a better version of it, for I am a firm believer that every human deserves a second chance. Helping them to realize it and be welcomed by this change is a one step to reduce violence in this world. They should be encouraged to join community activities. An ex-convicted person wanted to feel belonged as well. It’s one of the needs to reach our fullest potential based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. If the community he lives in would make him experience the love and compassion rather than hate and prejudice, eventually he would realize that hurting someone wasn’t that worth it at all. Because he won’t gain anything in return by doing so, only imprisonment in himself and suffering to the opposite side. By joining community activities, he will eventually able to find a healthy camaraderie that brings goodness and love in his life.
