DEEPER LEVEL OF PEACE

The concept of peace varies and depends on the perception of each individual. Though humankind has been consistently hoped for peace, there are still some of us who don’t value its importance. Wars, conflicts, and problems between individuals and different groups of people are continuously arising because of personal interests.

One of the most striking quotations about peace that I remember the most expresses the idea of being selective with our battles, and that sometimes peace is better than being right. Thus, I realized that peace begins within the mind and heart of each individual. Inner peace enables human to achieve a state of calmness and serenity which helps us to exercise interiority and externality to a deeper level.

In the past years of service in the teaching profession, my mind had been opened in the reality of life. I thought it was enough to educate the students and make them learn and master all the concepts in my class. But, I came to realize that it doesn’t end there.

In my first year of teaching in the public school, things were quite difficult to handle. I, who grew up not experiencing such difficulties, was a bit shaken. In this society where poverty is the most prevalent problem, many of my students suffer. I never imagined that there were these students who were always late, absent, and drop because most of them are working and some cannot even afford to go to school. It breaks my heart because I always got upset with these students not knowing what they were going through. However, the realizations of these realities made me more understanding and avoid having conflicts with the students.

I cannot do anything to solve poverty. But, what I can do is to promote peace among the students and teachers. I will raise awareness to my fellow teachers about poverty being one of the reasons of the students for being late and absent in the school. I will encourage them not to just simply scold these innocent students, but to understand them and extend their helping hands if they can. Though I have more external peace at the moment, my heart is still breaking for the students which affect my inner peace. But, I have a deeper level of inner peace in a sense that I am calmer and more understanding whenever I encounter students with unpleasant actions. I hope that in the future, there will be a better society without selfish who only considers their personal interests so that none of the students would have to suffer from poverty which is not their fault in the very first place.

--oOo— The author is Master Teacher I at Masantol High School