They say that everything has a price. We hear it all the time. You have to pay the piper, the cost of doing business, you can’t have something for nothing. Look at what war costs us, at what hate costs us. Look at what jealousy, envy, greed, guilt, and fear costs us. It has cost us our blood, sweat, tears. It has cost us our hearts, our lives, and our humanity. And we are on the verge of also losing our home; our mother Earth. But what about the good things? Sometimes even love feels like it costs us, and to some, there is even a price for peace. So is anything good free?

Personally, the more I thought about it, the more I thought peace, real peace, must be free. If we feel like we sacrificed anything to achieve peace, are we really at peace? Peace has to flow both ways. If bringing peace to one, harms another, either physically or emotionally regardless of the peace of mind it brings, it isn’t really peace. For there to truly be peace, every word, every action, and every thought must bring peace of mind, body, and soul to the giver and also to the receiver. True peace is in understanding, accepting, and loving unconditionally. So aren’t these all free?

Yes, but I realized something else. I realized peace does in fact ask something from us. It asks us to give up things we’ve held on to our whole lives, things we protect and defend, and things we don’t want to let go of.

So what will it cost to achieve peace? The cost is not in dollars, not in euros, and not in blood. To achieve it, we will have to give up part of ourselves and our way of life, but the part we are giving up is exactly the thing that is preventing our peace. Peace asks us to give up our anger, our hate, our worry, and our guilt. It asks us to release fear of things that are different or unknown, and to give up our fear of being wrong, of being rejected, unwanted and unloved. This is the cost of peace, giving up that part of ourselves which causes distress, tears, and pain, and in it’s place accepting love and understanding.

This is a price I will gladly pay, and one we can all afford.

There is a Peace for Everyone.