Fighting for peace

I got up this morning to the awful news that there has been yet another terrorist attack in my country.

People are justifiably angry about it and most are blaming religion as the cause.

But is this really the case? If there was no religion, would war and conflict cease, would the world be at peace?

Sadly, I believe that it would not. Man will always find a reason to fight, to start wars.

We will always fight for what we think that we deserve, what we are owed.

Without religion, we would fight over land, food, money, to name but a few.

We would fight over small things that in the grand scheme of things don't matter at all, but we feel it is our right to do so.

Animals fight over the same things, and at the end of the day, as much as people dislike to hear it, we too are animals, with the same instincts to fight for what we want and need.

But here lies the difference. We have the gifts of compassion and logic. The ability to compromise for the good of all.

We can negotiate, we can put ourselves in the shoes of others, we can see things from their point of view.

All wars and conflicts start with a disagreement between two parties.

Instead of killing each other, we should use these human abilities to find a peaceful outcome.

Maybe this sounds simplistic, but if more people used these uniquely human abilities, then the world would be a kinder, more peaceful place for everyone.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone, the world over who has suffered and lost due to war and conflict.

Let us hope that one day our humanity will triumph and our beautiful world will be a haven of love and understanding rather than one of death and destruction.