We are moving from being locked into outrage at war and violence, or being defined as a protest movement, to creating a culture of peace from the ground up and from the inside out.
We are moving from the reactive condemnation of others arising out of a presumed superior moral position, to engaging in dialogue, listening, and drawing on nonviolent communication strategies.
We are moving from labeling those who disagree with us as the enemy to recognizing the inherent flaw in creating enmity as a peace strategy. In this way our work attempts to dissolve polarizing behaviors.
We are moving from a consciousness that is problem centered to one that is solution centered. This has a radical impact on how we organize. We are informed by our vision, and our approach is not always defined by the tactics or stance of the opposition.
We are moving from piecemeal, feel-good, quick-fix interventions, to whole-system maps and systemic transformation.
We are moving from a reliance on ideological frameworks to integral approaches that are embodied manifestations of peace at the individual and collective levels.
We are moving from activism that leads to burnout and relationship breakdowns to one in which working for the cause of peace requires self-care and time for quality relationships.
We are moving from the battleground of proving who is right and who is wrong to understanding worldview transformation and exploring who are wounded and how they can find healing.
We are moving from an obsession with punishment to the search for truth, reconciliation, and restorative justice.
We are moving from demanding rights to assuming our responsibility to create environments that promote rights and social justice.
We are moving from merely critiquing the absence of humanity in others to honing our own capacity for compassionate action, deep empathy, and authentic forgiveness.
-James O’Dea, from Cultivating Peace