Definition of the Concept of Inner Peace: Opinion Essay

What is Peace; Concept of Inner Peace

In a world of conflict and violence, what is truly the definition of peace? Peace to me means being at unity with yourself, which can lead to a peaceful mindset through difficult times and hardships. Having inner peace and giving yourself the ability to accept yourself is very important, as an individual should have control of their body and thoughts whether they are negative or positive. Within this essay, I will first be going over how inner peace is brought by positive peace, through resolving any sort of conflict in a respectful manner. Secondly, I will be discussing the exploration in cultures and religions who live through peace and how it helps them avoid major conflicts. Lastly, the essay will cover ways to implement my definition of peace.

My first reason as to why my definition of peace comes from within oneself is through positive peace, where it is defined as resolving conflict through a peaceful approach. Peace is not always about having the same values and always coming to the same agreements. Rather, it is coming together to compromise and accept others values in a peaceful manner. As stated by Remez Sasson, “peace is a state of being emotionally and mentally at peace, without restless or disturbing thoughts, and being in control of your mind, moods and reactions” (Sasson, 2018). In this passage, the author speaks about how with peace you need to be internally at peace, without a negative viewpoint in the lead of our emotions. That being said, having this sense of mentality will lead to less conflict, as people do not feel the need to act violently when faced with different opinions and point of views. An example of handling conflict in a peaceful manner is peace treaties, which are a form of positive peace. It is defined when two sides are struggling to find equal grounds, they come to an agreement through non-violence to end their disagreements. With peace treaties people of both ends are coming synchronically to diminish their disagreements, using peace to find a better common ground that works for both sides without resorting to endless violence. An example of this would be the oldest peace treaty in history, the Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty. This treaty was created in order to cease the Egyptian Hittite war lasting over more than 80 years, the two parties came to a negotiation and ended the war in 1276 BC. This treaty was made up from negotiations and obligations for both sides. Apart from solving the war between Egyptian and Hittite “the treaty also forged an alliance between the two sides in future wars with a third enemy” (Mishkov, 2015). These two sides were able to look past their disagreements and even form an alliance through discussing and negotiating without the use of violence.

In my second argument as to why peace comes from inner peace, I’ll be talking about how culture and religion have a great impact on this. One religion that is big on practicing harmony and inner zen is Buddhism. In a Buddhist perspective “happiness and joy do not depend on outer conditions, which change constantly, but on the experiencer of all phenomena — mind itself” (Lama Ole Nydahl, Nd). This passage states that to find harmony and contentment you need to look within, rather than looking from an outside perspective. When we think about wars and the soldiers that go to grave lengths to fight these wars, we know that they are doing this to fight for what they believe; not to support violence. In Sri Lanka Buddhist monks travel with soldiers to preserve the peace, seen in this passage “chanting with them and blessing them, their perspective is that they are not trying to support the violence but … it’s better to have soldiers with a cool, calm, clear head, with good intentions, than those that are hot headed’ (Shadbolt, 2013). This passage goes back to how peace comes from inner peace, as it helps the soldiers think rationally and focus on their main objective, rather than resulting in the faster violent route.

There are many ways in which you can implement peace, but for inner peace, I believe people should be moulded from a young age to find their inner contentment. As children grow their brains develop with them and “the most important time for your child’s brain development is during pregnancy and the early years. This is when the foundation for future learning, behaviour, and health is set” (Alberta Health Services, nd). Learning how to acquire knowledge on ways to control your behaviour will help in the long run, when these children are grown up. As children enter the age to start their education, there should be a mandatory course in schools that will guide these children to embrace the thought of resolving problems with a happy and peaceful mindset. Like English and gym class, courses on how to act rationally and peacefully should be as mandatory. As mentioned in this course, peace education isn’t as practiced due to the fast pace of our everyday lives. Once people take time to reflect within their inner thoughts and learn how to control them in a peaceful manner rather than violently, outer peace can be achieved, benefiting both the individual and society as a whole.

In conclusion, looking at peace through positive peace and culture and religion, we can learn greatly how to implement inner peace from within. we can allow people to interact with each other peacefully and decrease violent conflicts and interactions.