I found myself weeping

I found myself weeping this morning as I read a couple of articles about Israel and Lebanon and how it's affecting Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. For example, Hezbollah is firing its rockets from between Christian homes in southern Lebanon forcing Israelis to return the fire and destroying those Christian homes in the process. That's just one example. It breaks my heart.

And while quotes about peace are all but useless, it makes me feel better to know there are like-minded people out there.

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

Black Elk (1863-1950)

In some ways, the challenges are even more daunting than they were at the peak of the cold war. Not only do we continue to face grave nuclear threats, but those threats are being compounded by new weapons developments, new violence within States and new challenges to the rule of law.

Kofi Annan

There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they grow up in peace.

Kofi Annan

And finally:

Peace is the only battle worth waging.

Albert Camus (1913-1960)