B P Messengers of Peace (Steffen, Denmark)
I admit, I have failed the challenge. I forgot to update the page.
But I did learn a few things by doing this challenge. I'll share these things with you, in honour of today (23/4) being the national day for scouting in Denmark.
First of all, I have realized that doing one good deed every day is hard. Of course it all depends on how you define a good deed, but having to be aware of having to do a good deed is hard. What I quickly did was to think of the little everyday things I did to help others and bring peace. Through my awareness, I realized that I was already doing a lot of good. And I quickly became better at seeing the potential in every decision I had to make, which made me do a lot more. I also began noting the positive impact as soon as I had made a right decision, which gave me a boost of energy and happiness, and a desire to do more.So bringing peace is not just about doing one good deed every day. It is about training your mind and body to react in every situation in a way that will keep or bring peace to the situation.
I also think that a positive mindset has helped me. I have stopped watching the news, and started searching the web for positive, inspiring stories of people who are doing good in different ways. The way you look at the world is reflected in the way you act in it. If all you see is war and violence and injustice, you start to expect the people you meet to live up to that. And that, I think, is one of the most dangerous thing you can do. As BP said: "Trust should always be the basis of our moral training". If you don't have trust in every person you meet, that person will never be able to impress you, teach you new things, get to know you or even get to tell you about him or herself. Trust is the basis of learning, and trust should therefore be kept sacred and trained.
I want to talk some more about the media, and their hunger for negative news. The world is a wonderful, and so are all people who live in it. We have come a long way in creating peace in the world. However, with the media being such a big part of our lives today, and their huge focus on the things that are wrong, we are induced with fear and the thought of a world that is more dangerous than ever, and might actually be coming to an end.What has changed for the worse is not how we treat other people, but how we treat ourselves. People work more, are more 'online' than ever. They have more people in their lives than ever, and strive more than ever to obtain the 'perfect' life, rather than a happy life. They set very high goals and have high expectations for themselves, and they think everybody else expect the same. The modern lifestyle has produced a new generation of diseases like ADHD, obesity, stress, depression and cardiovascular disorders. I fear that this lifestyle will affect the good results we have gotten in out efforts to make the world a better place. I fear that the stress will cause a new increase in war, violence and injustice.
My conclusion is that if you want to create a peaceful world, you need to start with yourself. Gandhi said it more than 50 years ago: "Be the change you want to see in the world". I have four things you can start working with today:
- Note all the things you already do to help others, and start looking for more opportunities to do even more. The things that you look for are the things you will find.
- Stop watching the news, and start searching the web for positive stories. The world is not a bad place, in fact it has never been better, and there is absolutely nothing to fear.
- Make trust one of your core values. When you meet a stranger on the street or on the bus, give him or her a smile, and tell yourself that this person is also a nice guy/girl. If you have the courage, compliment the stranger. I swear they will appreciate it.
- Change your life style. Take some time off every day where you are not connected to the rest of the world, but to yourself. Start meditating, you will not regret.
Those are some of the thoughts that have run through my head during these months. I hope you will read it and apply this to your own life. I wish you a wonderful life, I'm sure you deserve it!