Who is responsible for peace?

Diane McInnis

Every year, our daughter, Alana, paints a card as her Christmas gift to us, and we share the card with family and friends as our gift to you. Alana and I were on the same page this year when thinking about a theme for our annual holiday card. “Merry and bright” did not seem appropriate this year. 2023 continued to be a difficult year for humanity and the planet. Has there ever been a time when focusing on peace, forgiveness and caring for others has been more important? So, when discussing the card, I was thinking “peace”, and she was thinking “light” as a universal symbol of peace and hope.

​Whether one ascribes to a particular religion or faith such as Islam (Eid), Judaism (Hanukkah), Hinduism (Diwali), Buddhism (Bohdi), Christianity (Advent), atheism or other, light is used as a powerful metaphor for enlightenment, light over darkness, good over evil, love over hatred. We live in a world in which most of us are peace-loving.  We also live in a world in which people are so traumatized, their ability to be guided by the light is blocked by “leaders” more concerned about power than peace, more driven by revenge than forgiveness, and more focused on greed than ensuring a just sharing of resources.

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