Insofar as man as an animal, he lives by struggle, he lives at the expanse of the others whom he fears and hates. Life then is a war.

Peace is much harder to define. Peace is neither an original paradisiacal state nor a form of co-existence by mutual consent. Peace is something we can only sense and search for. True peace is difficult and unusual than any other achievement- even for two persons who live together and need each other.
Many believe that the last war set in motion such a gigantic mechanism of horror that future generations would be frightened of ever making war again. But the opinion is absolutely mistaken. Fear teaches men nothing. If men enjoy killing, no memory of war will deter them nor will the knowledge of the material damage wrought by war.

That is why I believe that world peace cannot be brought about by preaching, organization and propaganda, just as a philosopher’s stone cannot be invented by a congress of chemist. What then can give rise to the true spirit of peace on earth? Not commandments, not practical experience. Like all human progress, the love of peace must come from the knowledge which may be seen and formulated in thousand different ways. But it must always embody one truth, the knowledge of living substance in each of us, the secret magic, and the secret godliness each of us bears within.
What am I saying is self-evident. Just as every soldier shut to death is an eternal repetition of an error, so the truth must be repeated forever and ever in thousand forms.
Therefore to us erring brothers and sisters, love is possible even in discord. Not judgment or hatred. But patient love and loving patience lead us closer to the goal.

Insofar as man as an animal, he lives by struggle, he lives at the expanse of the others whom he fears and hates. Life then is a war.

Peace is much harder to define. Peace is neither an original paradisiacal state nor a form of co-existence by mutual consent. Peace is something we can only sense and search for. True peace is difficult and unusual than any other achievement- even for two persons who live together and need each other.
Many believe that the last war set in motion such a gigantic mechanism of horror that future generations would be frightened of ever making war again. But the opinion is absolutely mistaken. Fear teaches men nothing. If men enjoy killing, no memory of war will deter them nor will the knowledge of the material damage wrought by war.

That is why I believe that world peace cannot be brought about by preaching, organization and propaganda, just as a philosopher’s stone cannot be invented by a congress of chemist. What then can give rise to the true spirit of peace on earth? Not commandments, not practical experience. Like all human progress, the love of peace must come from the knowledge which may be seen and formulated in thousand different ways. But it must always embody one truth, the knowledge of living substance in each of us, the secret magic, and the secret godliness each of us bears within.
What am I saying is self-evident. Just as every soldier shut to death is an eternal repetition of an error, so the truth must be repeated forever and ever in thousand forms.
Therefore to us erring brothers and sisters, love is possible even in discord. Not judgment or hatred. But patient love and loving patience lead us closer to the goal.

One may ask; what is peace? Is it not more than just the absence of armed conflict; is it not more than a simple truce? As a concept peace should entail a sense of security in ones existence, but also an exchange of cultural influences and active cooperation between the opposing parties. What are the conditions for a prosperous and harmonic relationship between the nations, people of the world and the “Mindanaons” in particular, across the geographical borders, as well as the cultural, religious, economical and ideological?

The conflict-ridden Mindanao we live in is haunted by a problems in particular. Prone to arise wherever differences exist, conflicts shape our lives. If you yourself are not directly involved, the fast faced society will most likely alert you to what is happening. But the media is drawn to scandal, drama, and disaster, and much that needs attention in often overlooked, the vast economic differences that confine people to an unbearable life, and forced them to desperate measures, is often forgotten when the camera is switched on. Dictated by profit, power, and industry even the environment is suffering from our way of life. We are not at war in this island of Mindanao we lived in, yet we treat it like a hostage. The cultural distinctiveness of the different areas of Mindanao might be decreasing, but culture is not static; evolving as time goes by, it is never exempt – neither from inside changes or outside influences. Despite this, the diversity and pluralism existing in Mindanao today, even in the world is as natural as the unique identity of a snowflake; and in this instance clash is neither pleasant nor anything to be derived. It is precisely the enormous differences that give architecture, music, art and literature in countless shapes and sizes the opportunity to flourish; in our community the power of knowledge is becoming more evident. Regardless of situation and point of view, knowledge is ultimately the basis for progress. It is through knowledge that we may come to appreciate the importance of cultural diversity and realize our prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination against each other. Finding something in common should not be as difficult as it would seem; we are after all human beings every one of us. Our reluctance to accept diversity, and the continued absence of peace would suggest otherwise. Research has shown, contrary to what many believe, that the more primitive societies are no more aggressive then the more “civilized”.

The human being as social creature has a natural predisposition for those close to him or her. We share a special bond with our families, friends and countrymen. Those with whom we share our everyday lives, our culture, language and beliefs. Take a close look at yourself and you will find that it is generally easier to hate what you do not know. Written in a time long before ours the demand is still current; knowledge as the light in our stormy night of a world is still what will elevate a simple human being to a higher degree of humanity and expanded ability of reflection. Because through knowledge we gain understanding of that with which we are unacquainted, and through understanding we may finally obtain peace. Over and over again my hopes of building that bridge of understanding that we have been working on would be possibly attain if we work hand in hand together for one purpose. Our stories are the building blocks of that bridge that extends across boundaries – bridge that connects us to one another in spite of all barriers that our differences bring, a bridge that will bring all of us to one road towards peace. Stories like these make us understand that we can all: walk together, talk together, and laugh together for a better Mindanao.