March B4Peace Post–A Peaceful Resolution

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Where have the first two months of this year gone? I was so lost in my writing that it took me a few moments to realise we were in March all ready and I hadn’t written my post for Bloggers for Peace. So I’ll let Kozo’s words introduce you to this months challenge while I gather my thoughts and add my post for this month.

Let’s focus on children. How can we teach children to prioritize peace? How did you experience peace as a child? What in your upbringing made you a Blogger for Peace? – Kozo

For Kozo’s helpful hints, please use this LINK for ideas. Please take a look, maybe it will inspire you to join 

Peace and conflict walk hand-in-hand throughout our lives. If we deny one then we deny both. As adults, we accept this unusual partnership. On one given day we may not feel that accommodating toward out loved ones and friends. On another given day we may want to shower them with adoration. So how can we—as adults—teach children Peace if we are at odds with ourselves and those around us?

If you happened to have read my last post for Bloggers4Peace, you could perhaps understand my reticence in fully embracing this months challenge. However, I’m not one who backs away from a challenge without trying.

As a writer, I’ve been told on a few occasions the “SHOW DON’T TELL” rule, and while I pondered this over it came to me this is also true of life. Who can hold their hand up and say they remember a time from their youth (or even now) when someone lectured you about something you did wrong, or gave you a yawn-worthy explanation on how to do something a certain way. I’m guessing by the looks of it, quite a few of you, and yes, I’m typing this with one hand raised. But which of you will keep that hand raised, knowing in truth that we are also guilty of this too. I know I can.

You can also forget about the “DON’T DO AS I DO, DO AS I TELL YOU” rule as well, talk about confusing! As a child, I often heard this phrase being thrown around and thought, okay, I’ll do both. I saw it like a “RED FLAG TO A BULL” and thought I’d push the boundaries. Although it never ended well, much like the bull.

In my opinion, and yes, this is my opinion only, children need to be taught: taught as in school and not to cross the road when the lights are red, and not to talk to strangers etc. These are examples when the rules apply. But we as adults/parents need to know when to flick that switch off. Allow children to grow and prosper in their own rights. Don’t force your beliefs and hatred of things onto them, they will only see this as the truth, a sometimes misguided truth how we see things that is. Give them the opportunity to find things out for themselves, offer both sides of the story and let them choose which one they wish to believe. We have no right to instil knowledge upon a child if we are unwilling to be open to change ourselves.

I was never given this choice as a child, and when my child was born I knew I had to break the cycle. With my son, I offered choices. Okay, there were days when the ugly monster reared its head and slipped back into the RAAR! persona, mainly the teenage angst years, but we overcame those indiscretions. But through choices and debates (and I don’t mean arguments) we found a happy medium, and PEACE and CONFLICT walked happily hand-in-hand.

We still have those debates, and what I guess I’m trying to say (in a very long-winded way), PEACE always begins at home. And if we wish to see the future through the eyes of our children, then we need to allow them free will to attain their own. By the means of their own beliefs and how they wish to see their world and not how we wish for them to see it. Permit them to make mistakes, for without those mistakes, how do they learn to grow and find the beauty and peace that is there waiting to be found.

That’s it, I’m done. Whether this post is pertinent to this months challenge, well I’m not sure. It is, however, the only way I could write it, so please forgive me if it doesn’t fall into the offered category for March.

Please give these worthy B4Peace bloggers a read:

Peace Child — (paxnation.co)

Plea Of A Child — (amaltaas.wordpress.com)

Well that’s it for this month, peace out people.