I would like to begin with a quote by Sri Chinmoy: “World peace can be achieved when, in each person, the power of love replaces the love of power.”

Many violent incidents recently have caused grave danger and loss of lives. We need to respect each other and live peacefully in the society. Law enforcement and the police make their efforts to protect people’s lives. Law and order has to be maintained in order for people to live normal lives. Some ideologies and beliefs are misinterpreted and communicated wrongly. Mother Teresa said, “Peace begins with a smile.” Hence, people should smile often and spread happiness.

Humans have co-existed and survived this far by the grace of God. Hatred, divide, racism, greed for power are all negative qualities that would lead to the destruction of self and the environment. These should be replaced by positive feelings such as love, unity, equality and respect for each other. No faith or religion advocates hate for our fellow beings. We all must learn to love each other and lead a happy life. It is painful to see people fighting against each other over various issues and making bad decisions. Peace should be advocated and matters must be resolved with dialogue and understanding each other.

The recent Nice terror attack at Paris has been very devastating, and one person’s choice cost so many innocent lives. It is very sad that this incident took place and people had to suffer. All lives are precious and they matter. Life is a gift from the Almighty and we should use it for the best purpose. When will the cruel and mean people learn to love and stop spreading hate? There are great examples of people from our history to look out for. People such as Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and others must be followed as they advocated peace and harmony. Live your lives peacefully and let others live too. I would like to end this article with another quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.: “If we are to have peace on earth … our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective ”. He means we must go beyond our race, tribe, class and nation to maintain world peace. Stay alive and peace to everyone!