peace within the souls of people

image credit: Dominican Center at Marywood
image credit: Dominican Center at Marywood

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.
~ Black Elk
(Revelations of the Great Spirit)

19 thoughts on “peace within the souls of people”

    1. You’re welcome, Val! Black Elk was truly a visionary – I love his wisdom, too. He was focused on the root of the problem – if only more would pay attention and wake up…

  1. Perfect quote for today.
    Luckily for us John Neihardt “a visionary thinker with keen spiritual insight” met Black Elk and wrote his biography “Black Elk Speaks” so we have a record of his wisdom.

    1. Thanks, Rosie! And lucky for me you posted about the International Day of Peace early so I had a chance to hunt for a quote and an image ahead of time! πŸ™‚

      (I hope I remember about the day next year. This morning I went into the kitchen to get my glasses and came back to the living room to watch the morning news with a potholder – not very useful for seeing the TV – sigh.)

  2. Such a vision and understanding at that time expressed is truly amazing! Understanding that vision and understanding into our daily lives in just now beginning to bring Peace.

    Thank you!

    1. You’re welcome, Jeff! Sometimes there is something to that old saying, that the more things change the more they stay the same. But, as Martin Luther King observed, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Peace may be unbearably slow in coming, but we’ll get there some day.

  3. Oh yes, this is so true. Peace must begin within the individual, and only then can it transfer to other people and throughout the world, as we all become one in the name of peace. Beautiful post today Barbara. πŸ™‚

    1. Thank you, Joanne! The more we create peace in our own selves and with others in our small spheres of influence, the more contagious that state will become, and we’ll all get there some day. πŸ™‚

    1. Thank you for the share, Diane! The message does make it so clear where and how we need to begin creating peace on earth.

  4. Something I needed to hear this day. I needed some one to tell me that peace lies within our souls. Barbara, tell me when you maintain your circumference of peace around you is it easy to not let the surrounding folks break it? Murmurs, cribbing that keeps falling into your ears all the while, though you try to be as quiet as a peaceful dove – what to do?

    1. It’s a tough place to be when those around you seem to be radiating nothing but negative energy. But if we concentrate on what we can do, rather than focusing on what we can’t seem to change, we can maintain a sense of peace.

      Meditating on Emily Dickinson’s words helps me keep things in perspective, “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.”

      There’s a bumper sticker we sometimes see around here that says, “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Our efforts toward peace in our own small sphere of influence do matter, even if they seem to us like a drop in the bucket.

      1. Thank you so much Barbara. You are a light. Thanks for making me realize that we can still do many things despite of the situations around. I shall keep the words in mind. I will keep trying.

        You’ve been so kind. πŸ™‚

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