Tag: Remembrance Sunday

The Value Of Remembrance

Happiness

Today is a very special day, it is Remembrance Sunday, where churches up and down the country in the UK, and elsewhere, have services that are conducted to remember the fallen from the two world wars and all other wars since.

WE REMEMBER THEM

War is an ugly business and many have died in the pursuit of winning a war, both soldiers and civilians. The purpose of each war is different, due to the different political landscapes and parties with vested interests, but the suffering is the same.

So much is invested in waging war, but little is invested in preventing and ending them it often seems. I don’t know the data on this, but I am confident it is lopsided toward the waging of war.

We have many divisions in our own lives too, small conflicts in comparison to wars between countries, but conflicts never the less. You could argue that even wars between nations began from decisions by individual people, so the best we can each do is to try and resolve our personal conflicts and use forgiveness and respect to move forward.

It is, however, important to remember the fallen soldiers and the civilians who have died in war. It is right to remember them and it helps us to seek peace in our own lives.

WE REMEMBER THEM

Remembering Peace

Happiness

Today we remember the fallen, those who died in war, the soldiers and the civilians. The red poppy is a symbol of remembrance and it is important to remember them.

War is a savage divider of humanity and I feel we should also strive to avoid future wars and to end current ones. The white poppy is, for me, a good counterpart to the red poppy.

According to the Peace Pledge Union “The white poppy stands for three things. They represent remembrance for all victims of war, a commitment to peace and a challenge to attempts to glamorise or celebrate war…

…We want to remember British military dead, but they are not the only victims of war. We also remember the many civilians who have died or suffered in war, both in the past and today, in Syria, Yemen and many other places around the world. Suffering does not stop at national borders, and nor should remembrance.” (Reference)

WE REMEMBER THEM

Divisions Create Conflict

Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

There are many divisions in our lives and this week, more than most, we turn our attention to them. On Thursday it will be 11th November, the date the First World War ended and peace was declared. On Sunday churches around the country will be holding Remembrance Services.

World Wars, and armed conflict of any kind are horrific in their nature and take a toll on humanity. We also have smaller more personal conflicts in our own lives which are born out of division. Any time there is an Us and a Them there is a division and there is some form of conflict in every division.

During this time of Remembrance let us strive to heal the divisions in our lives by removing the need for a Them and including everyone as Us. When we see people as human first we are better able to use empathy and resolve issues.

When Nelson Mandela came out of prison where he spent 27 years of his life he realised that if he continued to hate those he incarcerated him he would never be free. He later led his country, as President, to forgive and heal after the atrocities of Apartheid. He was a remarkable man, but we can each try to heal the divisions in our lives and use examples like Nelson Mandela as a beacon of hope, hope that it can be done.