Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don't need a lot of money to be happy--in fact, the opposite.
Jean VanierRead
I believe every act of violence is also a message that needs to be understood. Violence should not be answered just by greater violence but by real understanding. We must ask: 'Where is the violence coming from? What is its meaning?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Violence conveys important underlying messages that require understanding instead of retaliatory responses.
In this quote, Jean Vanier emphasizes that acts of violence are often expressions of deeper issues and should be approached with a mindset of understanding rather than escalating the violence. He advocates for a thoughtful examination of the root causes of violence, prompting questions about its origins and meanings, as a way to address and resolve conflicts more effectively.
Themes
ViolenceUnderstandingPeaceCommunicationConflict
In practice
Example use cases
During a community meeting focused on reducing violence, this quote could be introduced to promote dialogue on understanding underlying issues.
More from Jean Vanier
All quotes →One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.
Jean VanierRead
We all know well that we can do things for others and in the process crush them, making them feel that they are incapable of doing things by themselves. To love someone is to reveal to them their capacities for life, the light that is shining in them.
Jean VanierRead
True peace can rarely be imposed from the outside; it must be born within and between communities through meetings and dialogue and then carried outward.
Jean VanierRead
In any case, community is not about perfect people. It is about people who are bonded to each other, each of whom is a mixture of good and bad, darkness and light, love and hate.
Jean VanierRead
We have to remind ourselves constantly that we are not saviours. We are simply a tiny sign, among thousands of others, that love is possible, that the world is not condemned to a struggle between oppressors and oppressed, that class and racial warfare is not inevitable.
Jean VanierRead
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