Peace. Forever.

I have a thing about peace. It is my biggest passion. If you have peace, then everything else follows: love, hope, joy, laughter, learning... "Peace on earth", "peace of mind", "peace be with you", "peace of God", and of course "peace and quiet"! It is just a beautiful image. Speaking of images, the symbol of peace looks like this:

or this

But my favorite symbol is the following (by Picasso):

The reason I like the dove with the Olive Branch is that it's roots are Biblical... I think of Noah and God's promise. He destroyed the world over hatred and war, the dove and olive branch symbolized the new, peaceful, beginning. It also makes me think of Israel, and the lack of peace that has been there for generations. And of course the history there, the people who walked that land, the miracles performed, the symbol of that land. I love the idea of "Shalom", not just a nonchalant peace, but a core value of love and respect...

Shalom (שָׁלוֹם) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye. As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities (especially between man and God or between two countries), or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals.

So much beauty in one word, one symbol. For many years this has been the image I wanted to embody. To live my life on this principle...So, I decided to make it permanent. My rebellious streak continues to flourish and last week, I did this...






So, faithful readers, I leave you all with an inspiring quote from a peaceful woman:
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
~Mother Teresa