amiPower of Peace

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Born, 1953, in The Hague, The Netherlands and immigrated to Canada a month after my second birthday. We stayed in Niagara Falls and moved when I was in Kindergarten. I grew up in St. Catharines and there I studied at Brock University where I graduated with an Honours degree in Biology and Urban and Environmental Studies. As well, I went to Teachers College. I taught for eight and a half years and retired at age forty due to complications with my health. I met my husband, Peter, in 1979 and we’ve been together for 46 years and counting!

Faith-Based Pathways to Peace

Let this play if you’d like company while reading.

✨ Forgiveness, Prayer, and Peacemaking Across Traditions

“Peace is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice, compassion, and love.”
— ami

🕊️ Forgiveness in the World’s Spiritual Traditions

Forgiveness is a cornerstone in many faiths — not as forgetting, but as freeing the heart from the chains of anger and resentment.

  • Christianity teaches forgiveness as a path to grace, modeled by Jesus’ command to “love your enemies.”
  • Buddhism emphasizes compassion and non-harm, inviting practitioners to let go of hatred through mindfulness and loving-kindness (metta).
  • Islam honors forgiveness as a divine attribute and calls believers to forgive others as God forgives.
  • Judaism highlights teshuvah, a process of repentance and reconciliation.
  • Hinduism teaches ahimsa (non-violence) and forgiveness as ways to purify the soul.
  • Indigenous Spiritualities often include rituals of healing and restoration that honor balance with community and nature.

Forgiveness here is an active, sacred choice — a step toward healing self and others.

🌟 Peacemakers Who Inspire

Across history, faith leaders have shown us that peace is possible, even in the darkest times:

  • Desmond Tutu, the South African archbishop, who led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a message of restorative justice and unyielding hope.
  • Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and poet, who taught “peace is every step” through mindfulness, compassion, and engaged Buddhism.
  • Dorothy Day, Catholic social activist and founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, who lived in solidarity with the poor and preached nonviolence.

Their lives remind us that faith is not passive—it calls us to action grounded in love.

🙏 Prayer and Peacemaking in Action

Prayer is often misunderstood as quiet meditation alone. But in faith-based peacemaking, prayer is a catalyst:

  • It grounds peacemakers in humility and courage.
  • It connects communities through shared intention.
  • It fuels movements for justice with resilience.

From interfaith vigils to community circles, prayer and ritual are tools for transforming conflict into connection.

🌍 Building Bridges Across Beliefs

True peace invites us to listen across differences, seeking shared values of love, justice, and mercy. Faith communities often lead this way — organizing dialogues, service projects, and advocacy for the marginalized.

📎 Explore Further:

🌿 Faith Inspires Peacemaking 🌿
An original song by ami / lyrics by Barb

[Verse 1]
They walked with earth before they spoke of peace,
Bare feet pressing prayers into the land.
Drums of old still echo through the trees,
Truth carried gently, hand to hand.

[Verse 2]
The smoke of sage, the firelight’s breath,
Circles drawn in cedar and stone.
Across each border, beneath each death,
A voice still whispers: “We are not alone.”

[Chorus]
Faith inspires the humble soul—
To stand, to kneel, to make things whole.
From teepees to temples, from river to flame,
The sacred call each heart by name.
Peace is not the silence kept,
But the promise that the elders wept.
We rise, we bow, we still believe—
That love is stronger than what we grieve.

[Verse 3]
In Palestine, in Lakota land,
In cloistered vows and desert sand,
The sacred wear a thousand names,
But all of them protect the flame.

[Bridge]
From wampum belts to rosary beads,
From Buddhist chants to Sufi creeds,
Faith is the breath that makes us see—
The other, too, is kin to me.

[Final Chorus]
Faith inspires the wounded heart
To find again the sacred part.
In every language, every tongue,
A song of peace is being sung.
Let nations learn what elders knew:
The earth is old, but ever true.
We walk as one beneath the sky—
Peace is the prayer that does not die.

Acknowledgements
Special thanks to ChatGPT, whose language support, research assistance, and creative brainstorming have helped shape much of the content across this site.
Gratitude also to MusicHero.ai, whose intuitive platform brought many of my musical ideas to life through rhythm, mood, and beat.

These tools served as silent collaborators—amplifying my voice, never replacing it.

—ami

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