260 Peace Quotes That Will Inspire Unity In The World

Peace begins with a smile. Mother Teresa Click to tweet

The world is now too small for anything but brotherhood. Arthur Powell Davies

Love is the purest form of a soul at peace. Matthew Donnelly

Little people are intolerant, selfish and impatient. Wise people are calm, loving and understanding. Maxime Lagacé

If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. Desmond Tutu

Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize 1984)

I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace. Helen Keller

When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world. Maha Ghosananda

Why can’t people just sit and read books and be nice to each other? David Baldacci

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix

You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. Malcolm X

Working for peace in the future is to work for peace in the present moment. Thich Nhat Hanh

You were placed on this earth to create not to compete. Robert Anthony

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. Amelia Earhart

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. Albert Einstein

See also: positive quotes, humility quotes, respect quotes

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The Best Peace Quotes

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World peace begins with inner peace. 14th Dalai Lama Click to tweet

Peace in ourselves, peace in the world. Thich Nhat Hanh

Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold. Bob Marley

You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist. Indira Gandhi Click to tweet

First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others. Thomas a Kempis

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi

Peace, which costs nothing, is attended with with infinitely more advantage than any victory with all its expense. Thomas Paine

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. Deepak Chopra Click to tweet

If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. Thomas Paine

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace. John Lennon Click to tweet

To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness. Robert Muller

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. Martin Luther King Jr

If we ourselves remain angry and then sing world peace, it has little meaning. First, our individual self must learn peace. This we can practice. Then we can teach the rest of the world. 14th Dalai Lama

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war. Albert Einstein

I have come into this world to see this: the sword drop from men’s hands even at the height of their arc of rage because we have finally realized there is just one flesh we can wound. Hafiz of Persia

There is a higher court than courts of justice, and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts. Mahatma Gandhi

Let us bring equality, justice, and peace for all. Not just the politicians and the world leaders, we all need to contribute. Me. You. It is our duty. Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Prize Winner 2014)

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. 14th Dalai Lama

You cannot find peace by avoiding life. Virginia Woolf

Make peace with your broken pieces. Unknown Click to tweet

Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace. Unknown

There is no way to peace, peace is the way. A.J. Muste

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. Melody Beattie

The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions. Thich Nhat Hanh

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it. Albert Einstein

Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous. George Bernard Shaw

Peace is not achieved by controlling nations, but mastering our thoughts. John Harricharan

What Is Peace?

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Peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice. Harrison Ford Click to tweet

Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue; a state of mind; a disposition for benevolence; confidence; and justice. Baruch Spinoza

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. John F. Kennedy

Peace is costly but it is worth the expense. African proverb

Peace is the only battle worth waging. Albert Camus Click to tweet

Part 2. Peace Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Peace Quotes (Einstein, Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa)

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If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Mother Teresa (Nobel Peace Prize 1979) Click to tweet

There never was a good war or a bad peace. Benjamin Franklin

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe our sorrow can make us a better country. I believe our righteous anger can be transformed into more justice and more peace. Barack Obama (Nobel Peace Prize 2009)

Resolutely train yourself to attain peace. Buddha

A running world is a peaceful world. Eliud Kipchoge (First man to run a marathon under two hours)

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. Nelson Mandela (Nobel Peace Prize 1993)

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Nelson Mandela

I was a drum major for peace. Martin Luther King Jr (Nobel Peace Prize 1964)

There is something strangely inconsistent about a nation and a press that would praise you when you say, ‘Be nonviolent toward Jim Clark,’ but will curse and damn you when you say, ‘Be nonviolent toward little brown Vietnamese children.’ There is something wrong with that press. Martin Luther King Jr

Only art and music have the power to bring peace. Yoko Ono

Some people call me the girl who was shot by the Taliban. And some, the girl who fought for her rights. Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Peace Prize 2014)

There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children. Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace Prize 2014)

The biggest challenge or biggest crisis knocking on the doors of humankind is fear and intolerance. Kailash Satyarhi (Nobel Peace Prize 2014)

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Albert Einstein

If the human race wishes to have a prolonged and indefinite period of material prosperity, they have only got to behave in a peaceful and helpful way toward one another. Winston Churchill

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. John F. Kennedy

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. John F. Kennedy

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government. Thomas Jefferson

We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. Jimmy Carter

No, I know all the war rhetoric, but it’s all aimed at achieving peace. George W. Bush

There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy. George Washington

If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots. Napoleon Bonaparte

Part 1. I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. 14th Dalai Lama (Real name is Tenzin Gyatso, Nobel Peace Prize 1989)

Part 2. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one’s own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace. 14th Dalai Lama

Peace by persuasion has a pleasant sound, but I think we should not be able to work it. We should have to tame the human race first, and history seems to show that that cannot be done. Mark Twain

Non-cooperation is a measure of discipline and sacrifice, and it demands respect for the opposite views. Mahatma Gandhi (Nominated 5 times for Nobel Peace Prize)

Nobody can hurt me without my permission. Mahatma Gandhi Click to tweet

Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one. John Lennon

All we are saying is give peace a chance. John Lennon Click to tweet

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See also: 20 Inspirational Lessons From Nobel Prize Winners

Short Peace Quotes

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One-liners, short peace quotes, sayings, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.

Peace is every step. Thich Nhat Hanh Click to tweet

Peace is its own reward. Mahatma Gandhi

Peace begins when expectation ends. Sri Chinmoy

Dream always of a peaceful, warless, disarmed world. Robert Muller

We make war that we may live in peace. Aristotle

#PeaceDay should be everyday. Michael Douglas (UN Messenger of Peace) Click to tweet

Every drop in the ocean counts. Yoko Ono

Peace without justice is an impossibility. Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize 1984)

Love is my weapon. Music is my religion. Peace is in my soul. Unknown Click to tweet

I am centered. I am balanced. I am at peace. Unknown

Life is much easier when you just chill out. Unknown

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. 14th Dalai Lama

Peace is never a perfect achievement. Kofi Annan (Nobel Peace Prize 2001)

I, too, am America. Langston Hughes

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Inspirational Peace Quotes (For Changing The World)

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Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere. Elie Wiesel Click to tweet

One little person, giving all of her time to peace, makes news. Many people, giving some of their time, can make history. Peace Pilgrim

Everyday we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life…, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive. Thich Nhat Hanh

You who are journalists, writers, citizens, you have the right and duty to say to those you have elected that they must practice mindfulness, calm and deep listening, and loving speech. This is universal thing, taught by all religions. Thich Nhat Hanh (See also: Peace Is Every Step, Amazon book)

A civilized nation can have no enemies, and one cannot draw a line across a map, a line that doesn’t even exist in nature and say that the ugly enemy lives on the one side, and good friends live on the other. Thor Heyerdahl

Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of faith, strength, energy, will, sympathy, justice, imagination, and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism. Dorothy Thompson

Part 1. Peace is the highest and most strenuous act of the soul, but an entirely harmonious act, in which all our powers and affections are blending in a beautiful proportion, and sustain and perfect one another. William Ellery Channing

Part 2. It is more than the silence after storms. It is as the concord of all melodious sounds… an alliance of love with all beings, a sympathy with all that is pure and happy, a surrender of every separate will and interest, a participation of the spirit and life of the universe… William Ellery Channing

Part 3. This is peace, and the true happiness of humanity. William Ellery Channing

If not now, then when? If not you, then who? If we are able to answer these fundamental questions, then perhaps we can wipe away the blot of human slavery. Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace Prize 2014)

Peace is our gift to each other. Elie Wiesel (Nobel Peace Prize 1986)

We who work for peace must not falter. We must continue to pray for peace and to act for peace in whatever way we can, we must continue to speak for peace and to live the way of peace; to inspire others, we must continue to think of peace and to know that peace is possible. Peace Pilgrim

The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don’t have to gain, develop, or attain them. We’re like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don’t need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are – as soon as we quit pretending we’re small or unholy. Bo Lozoff

The greatest personalities that ever existed have been those who united human beings and put them on the road toward cooperation and effectiveness and peace. Those whom the world has held highest have helped to unite and not sever interconnectedness. They have not been the destroyers of differences but the harmonizer of differences. John Lovejoy Elliott

Choose. The single clenched fist lifted and ready, or the open hand held out and waiting. Choose: For we meet by one or the other. Carl Sandburg

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. Leo Tolstoy

See also: strength quotes

Funny And Surprising Peace Quotes

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Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start. Anthony Bourdain Click to tweet

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity. George Carlin

Perpetual peace is only found in the graveyard. Immanuel Kant

Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace. Milan Kundera

While conscience is our friend, all is at peace; however once it is offended, farewell to a tranquil mind. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the Universe. Larry Eisenberg

There is peace in the garden. Peace and results. Ruth Stout

I first learned the concepts of non-violence in my marriage. Mahatma Gandhi

Deep And Emotional Peace Quotes

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Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime. Victor Hugo Click to tweet

In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons. Croesus

Never, ‘for the sake of peace and quiet,’ deny your own experience or convictions. Dag Hammarskjold

Let us not deceive ourselves; we must elect world peace or world destruction. Bernard Baruch

There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community. M. Scott Peck

When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed. Fred Rogers

The opposite of peace is indifference to both peace and war—indifference to hunger and persecution, to imprisonment and humiliation, indifference to torture and persecution. Elie Wiesel

One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. Martin Luther King Jr

The earth is too small a star and we too brief a visitor upon it for anything to matter more than the struggle for peace. Colman McCarthy

Is it not better for a man to die for a cause in which he believes, such as peace, than to suffer for a cause in which he does not believe, such as war? Albert Einstein

They have not wanted Peace at all; they have wanted to be spared war – as though the absence of war was the same as peace. Dorothy Thompson

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts. Kahlil Gibran Click to tweet

Ultimately the only peace and security you can hope for from your enemies is their disappearance. Robert Greene

Conflict is inevitable; you will never have total peace. Robert Greene

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Wise Peace Quotes (words of wisdom)

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When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. African proverb Click to tweet

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. Francis of Assisi

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one. Agatha Christie

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day. Alex Noble

We are not going to deal with the violence in our communities, our homes, and our nation, until we learn to deal with the basic ethic of how we resolve our disputes and to place an emphasis on peace in the way we relate to one another. Marian Wright Edelman

We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say. Zeno of Citium

Everyone’s a pacifist between wars. It’s like being a vegetarian between meals. Colman McCarthy

Those who are at war with others are not at peace with themselves. William Hazlitt

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee. Augustine of Hippo

It’s time for us to turn to each other, not on each other. Jesse Jackson Click to tweet

Dad, how do soldiers killing each other solve the world’s problems? Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes)

Be selective in your battles. Sometimes peace is better than being right. Unknown

Either war is obsolete or men are. R. Buckminster Fuller

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Part 3. Peace Quotes About…

Peace Quotes About freedom, brotherhood, Sisterhood, respect

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In union there is strength. Aesop Click to tweet

Respect for the rights of others means peace. Benito Juarez

I believe in the brotherhood of all men, but I don’t believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn’t want to practice it with me. Brotherhood is a two-way street. Malcolm X

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Peace begins with tolerance and respect for everyone. Unknown

There is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom. Liu Xiaobo (Nobel Peace Prize 2010)

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once. Robert A. Heinlein

Almost all of us long for peace and freedom; but very few of us have much enthusiasm for the thoughts, feelings, and actions that make for peace and freedom. Aldous Huxley

There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained. W. E. B. DuBois

Human beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom. 14th Dalai Lama

Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. 14th Dalai Lama

The well-being and the hopes of the peoples of the world can never be served until peace – as well as freedom, honor and self-respect – is secure. Ralph J. Bunche

Brotherhood is the very price and condition of man’s survival. Carlos P. Romulo

On this shrunken globe, men can no longer live as strangers. Adlai Stevenson I

Every soul is beautiful and precious; is worthy of dignity and respect, and deserving or peace, joy and love. Bryant H. McGill

The universal brotherhood of man is our most precious possession. Mark Twain Click to tweet

Help one another is part of the religion of our sisterhood. Louisa May Alcott

Nobody’s free until everybody’s free. Fannie Lou Hamer

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Quotes About Peace And Love, Forgiveness

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Every act of love is a work of peace no matter how small. Mother Teresa Click to tweet

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love. Mahatma Gandhi

That’s all nonviolence is – organized love. Joan Baez

Every human longs for peace and love. Hiawatha

If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal. John Lennon

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it. Martin Luther King Jr

In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute. Thurgood Marshall

Without justice and love, peace will always be the great illusion. Archbishop Helder Pessoa Camara

Love and peace of mind do protect us. They allow us to overcome the problems that life hands us. They teach us to survive… to live now… to have the courage to confront each day. Bernie Siegel

Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace. Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future. Bernard Meltzer

See also: How to forgive (YouTube video)

Love – giving and receiving from the heart – involves peace. Richard Carlson

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Francis of Assisi

Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning. Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize 1984)

The greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. 14th Dalai Lama

When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. 14th Dalai Lama

Compassion is more important than intellect in calling forth the love that the work of peace needs, and intuition can often be a far more powerful searchlight than cold reason. Betty Williams

Harmony is one phase of the law whose spiritual expression is love. James Allen

Smile creates love and peace; love and peace create smile. Mehmet Murat Ildan

We do not want riches, we want peace and love. Red Cloud

I still believe in peace, love and understanding. John Lennon

More love quotes, forgiveness quotes

Quotes About Inner Peace, Happiness, Life, Balance, Zen

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He knows peace who has forgotten desire. Bhagavad Gita Click to tweet

Anything is possible when you have inner peace. Master Shifu (Kung Fu Panda)

What I dream of is an art of balance. Henri Matisse

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. St. Francis de Sales

Simple kindness may be the most vital key to the riddle of how human beings can live with each other in peace, and care properly for this planet we all share. Bo Lozoff

It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace. Chuck Palahniuk

Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have. Doris Mortman

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others. Thich Nhat Hanh

A great deal of chaos in the world occurs because people don’t appreciate themselves. Having never developed sympathy or gentleness toward themselves, they cannot experience harmony or peace within themselves, and therefore, what they project to others is also inharmonious and confused. Chogyam Trungpa

When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others. Peace Pilgrim

Meditation is applying mindfulness without feelings of being hurried or under pressure. Christopher Titmuss

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. Mahatma Gandhi

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi Click to tweet

You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level. Eckhart Tolle

Those who have experienced the most, have suffered so much that they have ceased to hate. Hate is more for those with a slightly guilty conscience, and who by chewing on old hate in times of peace wish to demonstrate how great they were during the war. Thor Heyerdahl

People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within. Ramona L. Anderson

Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there’s always something we could be grateful for. Barry Neil Kaufman

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Christian Larson Click to tweet

Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them. Thomas Kinkade

The calm and balanced mind is the strong and great mind; the hurried and agitated mind is the weak one. Wallace D. Wattles

Live life in harmony. Balance the elements of life around you to live in peace. Let your worries go. Do not stress over things you cannot control. Live and be. Jenna Bognar

Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility. In that state of mind you can deal with situations with calmness and reason, while keeping your inner happiness. This is very important. Without this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you may still be worried, disturbed or unhappy because of circumstances. 14th Dalai Lama

True peace with oneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace. The other phenomena mentioned above are similarly interrelated. 14th Dalai Lama

When you do the right thing, you get the feeling of peace and serenity associated with it. Do it again and again. Roy T. Bennett

Symptoms of Inner Peace: 1) A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experience 2) An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment 3) A loss of interest in judging other people 4) A loss of interest in judging self. Saskia Davis

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of knowing u did your best to become the best that u are capable of being. John Wooden

The answer lies within ourselves. If we can’t find peace and happiness there, it’s not going to come from the outside. Tenzin Palmo

Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay. Robert Greene

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. Thomas Merton

It’s important to be comfortable with uncertainty. Xiaolu Guo

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy. Ralph H. Blum

The balance of power is the scale of peace. Thomas Paine

More inner peace quotes, zen quotes

See also: How to Find Inner Peace: 5 Timeless Thoughts

Quotes About War, Fighting For Peace, Violence, Revolutions

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We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion. Mother Teresa Click to tweet

It’s my conviction that nothing enduring can be built on violence. Mahatma Gandhi

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war. Maria Montessori

Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind. Daisaku Ikeda

We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel

We cannot have peace if we are only concerned with peace. War is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life. If we want to attack war, we have to attack that way of life. A. J. Muste

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Martin Luther King Jr

Even if we are spared destruction by war, our lives will have to change if we want to save life from self-destruction. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war. Ralph Waldo Emerson

One doesn’t make peace with one’s friends. One makes peace with one’s enemies. Juan Manuel Santos (Nobel Peace Prize 2016)

Every thought, every word, and every action that adds to the positive and the wholesome is a contribution to peace. Each and every one of us is capable of making such a contribution. Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize 1991)

We tend to think the problem is human beings have this natural tendency to kill, and yet in the middle of a hot war, WWII, a ‘good war,’ as it were, the US army was astonished to learn that at least three out of every four riflemen who were trained to kill and commanded to kill, could not bring themselves to pull the trigger when they could see the person they were ordered to kill. And that inner resistance to violence is a well kept secret. William Ury

It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it. Eleanor Roosevelt

Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom. 14th Dalai Lama Click to tweet

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war. Albert Einstein

There are two ways of resisting war: the legal way and the revolutionary way. The legal way involves the offer of alternatinve service not as a privilege for a few but as a right for all. The revolutionary view involves an uncompromising resistance, with a view to breaking the power of militarism in time of peace or the resources of the state in time of war. Albert Einstein

We must be prepared to make the same heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war. Albert Einstein

The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military service. Albert Einstein

See also: 24 ways to reduce crime in the world’s most violent cities

Quotes About justice, injustice, humanity, cooperation, progress

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All roads are good, if they lead to justice. Stefan Zweig Click to tweet

When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful. Malala Yousafzai

Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed. Mahatma Gandhi

Peace may sound simple – one beautiful word – but it requires everything we have, every quality, every strength, every dream, every high ideal. Yehudi Menuhin

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. Robert F. Kennedy

To solve the problem of organizing world peace we must establish world law and order. Arthur Henderson

Let us not accept violence as the way of peace. Let us instead begin by respecting true freedom: the resulting peace will be able to satisfy the world’s expectations, for it will be a peace built on justice, a peace founded on the incomparable dignity of the free human being. Pope John Paul II

When we dehumanise and demonise our opponents, we abandon… possibility of peacefully resolving our differences. Nelson Mandela

You cannot say you’ve achieved equality until everyone is equal and has equal opportunities! Leymah Gbowee (Nobel Peace Prize 2011)

All who affirm the use of violence admit it is only a means to achieve justice and peace. But peace and justice are nonviolence…the final end of history. Those who abandon nonviolence have no sense of history. Rather they are bypassing history, freezing history, betraying history. Andre Trocme

Consumption patterns continue at the expense of the environment and peaceful co-existence. The choice is ours. Wangari Maathai

The peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: “Our country — when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz

Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict – alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence. Dorothy Thompson

The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned. Dag Hammarskjold

Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal. Martti Ahtisaari (Nobel Peace Prize 2008)

Today, peace means the ascent from simple coexistence to cooperation and common creativity among countries and nations. Mikhail Gorbachev (Nobel Peace Prize 1990)

That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn’t be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind. Mos Def

Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. 14th Dalai Lama

What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live in seriously. 14th Dalai Lama

If there is love, there is hope that one may have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. 14th Dalai Lama

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. Elie Wiesel

When we respect everybody around us, we are in peace with everybody around us. Don Miguel Ruiz Click to tweet

Mankind must give up war in the Atomic Era. What is at stake is the life or death of humanity. Albert Einstein

He who cherishes the value of cultures cannot fail to be a pacifist. Albert Einstein

More humanity quotes, change quotes

Part 4. Poems On Peace

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Poem #1
For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes

Poem #2
Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty. Oscar Romero

Part 5. Conclusion

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If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart. Lao Tzu Click to tweet

Call to action: Read How to Bring Peace to the World Through You