Good evening everyone. Tonight David Shane Ligon talks about International Day of Peace. From David below;
“Tonight I want to talk about a topic that’s easily misunderstood. And that topic happens to be Peace. 11 days ago, I discussed about my hospitalization following my almost-successful suicide attempt. When I was transferred from Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital to Natividad Medical Center, I had to be psychologically evaluated by a therapist/specialist. I had to wait a couple of hours, as there were other people ahead of me who were being evaluated, as well.
During those couple of hours, God helped me realize that there were other people all over the world who experienced what I experienced. They try to do good for themselves and others, end up getting bullied and feeling alone, and attempt to end their lives. I had already regretted about almost ending my life, but it was during that waiting period that made me see that all sorts of other people have and are going through what I’ve been through.
It should not matter if a person is Caucasian, African, Asian, Semite (of Jewish and/or Arab descent), Hispanic, Indigenous, Multiracial, Straight, LGBTQ, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, Baha’i, Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Samaritan, Rastafari, Jain, Sikh, Confucianist, Shinto, Universalist, a hybrid of any of the aforementioned beliefs, Libertarian, Independent, Democrat, Republican, Green, Man, Woman, Child, Teenager, Veterans of the Armed Forces, Upper-Class, Middle-Class, Lower-Class, etc. To me, this has to do with Peace, because Peace is not exclusive. Peace is not at all about bigotry, hatred, discrimination, and resentment.
Peace has to involve Forgiveness and Acceptance of others, even if they differ us in race, gender, sexual orientation, and spiritual/humanistic/political beliefs. Peace is reaching out to someone, especially when they are feeling very down, even though we do not know who they are. I also believe that Peace is not limited to human beings. A human reaching out to an animal who feels hopelessness can change an animal’s outlook on life for the better.
If the world accepted Peace, it would be much like the community in “Everybody Loves Sammy.” Everyone would be united, no matter what their differences are, and help each other out the best that they can.
Enclosed with this post is my profile picture. I’ve seen bumper stickers with this picture. It’s a marking of the word “COEXIST” with the letters being represented by different belief systems spelling out the same word together. The rainbow-shaded colors represent the peaceful coexistence between the straight and LGBTQ communities. It’s a very touching and amazing picture, and it’s one of my favorite pictures/illustrations of all-time (not at all because it’s my profile picture).
A person’s actions and intentions should only matter, not for who they are. It’s a hard concept to get around, because we are all human beings, but I know that it would make us stronger if we actually try and live by it.
In the end, Peace will make us stronger and better people. Happy International Day of Peace, everyone. Take care.
Signing off from California,
David Shane Ligon
