We have thought of peace as the passive and war as the active way of living. The opposite is true. War is not the most strenuous life. It is a kind of rest-cure compared to the task of reconciling our differences.
Interpretation
Peace requires active effort and engagement, while war is a destructive escape from conflict.
Mary Parker Follett highlights a profound understanding of the nature of peace and war. She suggests that society often views peace as too passive and war as an assertive and active state, but in reality, it takes much more strength and energy to engage in constructive dialogue and reconciliation than it does to engage in warfare. Thus, the real challenge lies in navigating differences and fostering peace, which is a labor-intensive process that demands resilience and commitment.
In practice
This quote could be used in a peace-building workshop to emphasize the need for active engagement in resolving conflicts.
There are three ways of dealing with difference: domination, compromise, and integration. By domination only one side gets what it wants; by compromise neither side gets what it wants; by integration we find a way by which both sides may get what they wish.
Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim.
Leadership is not defined by the exercise of power but by the capacity to increase the sense of power among those led. The most essential work of the leader is to create more leaders.
It is possible to conceive conflict as not necessarily a wasteful outbreak of incompatibilities, but a normal process by which socially valuable differences register themselves for the enrichment of all concerned.
Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated, not absorbed.
Life is rather a state of embryo, a preparation for life; a man is not completely born till he has passed through death.
Suppose someone were to say: 'Imagine this butterfly exactly as it is, but ugly instead of beautiful'?!
The notion of humans as inherently rational beings has been not only trashed in economics, but trashed in all the best research on moral decision-making.
This very heart which is mine will forever remain indefinable to me. Between the certainty I have of my existence and the content I try to give to that assurance, the gap will never be filled. Forever I shall be a stranger to myself.
There seems to be something in the human soul that causes us to think less of ourselves every time we do something wrong... And maybe it is good for us to feel that way. It may make us more sensitive to what we do wrong and move us to repent and grow.
Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.