Today feels unbearably heavy. A shooting on the campus just down the canyon from my home ... a place where my children’s friends attend college. And another at a high school in Evergreen, Colorado, one of my favorite places. Some of those students were once carried on their mothers’ backs in my hiking group when my kids were babies. We dreamed of bright futures for our children — futures that did not include what this world is becoming.
Here’s the hard truth: Unless tragedy hits close to home, many remain paralyzed in inaction. Some lose empathy altogether. And calls for hatred and retribution never bring lasting change; they only drive us deeper into polarizing silos.
Peacemaking is not passive. It is not silence or avoidance. It is the hard, holy work of building bridges. Not in proving we’re “right” or the absence of direct violence (what scholars call negative peace) but in pursuing positive peace: the presence of collaboration, equity and love. THAT is the only way to bring lasting change.
As President Russell M. Nelson reminded us this week in Time magazine on his 101st birthday: “Imagine how different our world could be if more of us were peacemakers — building bridges of understanding rather than walls of prejudice … Even small acts — like reaching out across lines of faith, culture, or politics — can open doors to healing.”
We can choose compassion where others expect conflict. We can build bridges where division feels easier. Imagine how different the world could be if we each chose one small act of peace today. And then go do it.
Amber Borowski Johnson
Midway