Peace Is...

Just as true health is more
than an absence of disease
but rather an optimal balance
of spiritual, emotional and physical
well-being
so too,
peace
is more than an absence of
conflict
more than the opposite of
war...
Peace, I believe is our original 
state of being,
 intended from the beginning,
lost,
after the Fall.
Peace is the freedom to be
yourself
to embrace dreams
it is much more than freedom from
oppression or violence
ridicule or censor-
it never shames
nor silences...

Peace is a sacred seed
sprouting
in the breast of the benevolent
and though dictators and bigots
wish to crush it
it cannot die
for peace is love's twin
and hope tells us-
Love conquers all.