Day 50 - Maya Abreu

Message of Hope

    To choose non-violence is the acknowledgment of truth: violence isn’t just the result of monsters, but it’s a possibility within all of us. Without realizing it, when we act out, we are trying to destroy a reflection of our own faults and failures. 

    Only then do we realize that hope isn’t optimistically waiting for the world to change, but that we are the change. To ensure a safe, positive world for future generations once we leave, we have to step up and recognize that we aren’t spectators in history, but are writing its next chapters. 

    Peace is often described as the mere absence of war, conflict, and noise, but that is simply a passive view of things. If violence is the act of tearing down and destruction, then peace is the act of rebuilding. It doesn’t always have to be a significant act, but it can be through day-to-day moments of kindness that represent peace. 

    Maybe it’s something as simple as holding the door for someone behind you, or complimenting a stranger’s outfit. Or it could be something grander and deeper, like writing letters of kindness and leaving them on bridges in the community, or volunteering and educating youth.

    We are often taught that power belongs to the strongest or loudest individual, but in reality, it is neither of these. There is a quiet strength that doesn’t require violence or a weapon. Peace is the decision to keep our hearts open when the easier approach is to close them. 

If we stopped treating peace like a destination we have yet to reach, but as the pathway we take, how different would our world feel if we act upon understanding rather than violence?

Maybe peace wasn’t something we had to search for, only something we had to choose.
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By Maya Abreu, Age 14
(Toronto, Ontario)