Peacemakers

This is a title that I have had in my head for a few months now, but I had not written it and I think there is no better time to publish it than now with all this Coronavirus madness (COVID19).

The last eight months I have been living in Belgium, and it has been an enriching and above all challenging experience for many reasons, for example, learning new languages, living far from my family and friends.

I have also had to face challenges in the MBA that I am studying. The day-to-day is about relating and working with a group of individuals from 20 different countries. In total, we are 42 people with different backgrounds, different languages, parallel stories, unique working styles, and changing expectations.

And when I think about this "struggle", the following verse comes to mind:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God — Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

"Peace-makers" is a selection of words that strikes me because they imply action. Another version of the same verse that I like:

You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family. — Matthew 5:9 (MSG).

Peace, like love, is something we must work for. This implies effort, intention, dedication.

A large part of us are in quarantine, in our homes. So I ask and challenge ourselves, how can we be peacemakers right now?

• Let's try to keep the house and our spaces clean and tidy.
• Let's talk instead of just watching our phones or TVs.
• Let's call our grandparents who are the most vulnerable community so they don't feel alone.
• Let's try, to the best of our ability, to buy from local businesses that need our support.
• We can write a letter of encouragement to people who are being treated in hospitals.
• Let's send a "Thank you" WhatsApp message to our friends in the health sector working on this crisis.
• Let's do some exercise and meditation to ensure that our head is stress-free.
• Let's take the time to review our finances and think about how to be debt-free.
• Let's call friends and drink something online together, to remind us that we are not alone.
• If we have someone by our side, let's hug and realize that we are fragile and ephemeral and it is better to be at peace with each other.
• Let's recycle and be at peace with the environment also.
• If we have a problem with someone, this is a good time to seek to be on good terms.

Let mercy and kindness be the main outcome we take from this situation.

Let's keep going. Peace, -Charlie!