Committed to Radiant Peace

Tampa Bay Peace Education Awards 2002
Winning Essays

Grades K-3

What I would say about peace to a child in another country

I believe that peace starts in everybodies hearts. When people learn to accept each others differences, then the world will be in peace. There is a song I know named "Let there be peace on earth." This is my wish for the whole world.

What I would say about peace to a child in another country

Peace means understanding with another person. It means communicating. If we have these things there would be less fighting in the world. There would be more happiness. If I met another child I would say we need to understand our differences from each other. We need to talk and understand each other’s feelings and thoughts. Then we could be friends.

When I was young, I was peaceful when people were nice and let me do what I wanted. Now, if they do not let me, I will still be nice. If people are mean to me, I will try to stay peaceful in my heart and be nice to them.

Grades 4-8

How can I bring peace in the world? Sounds to me like a huge undertaking. Would I have to become a governmental leader or some world-renowned peacemaker? Surely isn’t simple, is it?

I mean, how could a smile, so simple an idea, make a difference for someone? Or volunteering to help feed homeless people, could that make a difference in the world? It may not be a headline and news breaking difference, but it may be a difference to someone who is sad and in need of a smile, or someone who is hungry and wants food. Right now if you turned to the person next to you and smiled, you could make a difference in their world. And who knows, that smile may carry on to someone half way across the world. So you don’t need anything flashy, great governmental powers, or money. I can bring peace to the world.

If I were talking to the children of the Mideast,
what would I say to help them understand peace?

To understand the true meaning of peace, what you do is much more important than what you say. We can tell each other that peace is very important, but not until we actually practice peaceful living will it really begin to make a difference.

We are not born mean and violent people. This way of living is something that we are taught. If one child throws a stone, then peace is lost. Violence feeds violence. In other words, if one kid throws a stone, a stone will be thrown back, possibly harming a person. This is much like our world today. The only way to stop violence is not to keep score.

Making our world a peaceful place will not be easy. Everyone will have to work together to change the way things already are.

Third Place

Peace is very important for many reasons. If your country has peace then you’ll be free from war and any other kinds of fights. Peace means that everyone will get along and be friends.

Peace means you can travel to different countries in the world and feel just as safe as if you were at home. Peace makes us feel good for ourselves and everybody else in the world.