QSA money guiders at work. Photo: Courtesy of QSA.
Peace is possible: But Judith Moran & Jez Smith say it can be a changeable thing
‘The key is not just what you do, but how you do it.’
Life is a changeable thing, after the clouds, the sunshine; after the winter, the spring; after the shower, the rainbow.
After the night, the morning, bidding all darkness cease, after life’s cares and sorrows, the comfort and sweetness of peace.
This is a beautiful quote from Helen Steiner Rice, but it echoes the most commonplace use of the word ‘peace’ – that we can only achieve peace when the cares and sorrows of life are over. But Rice also notes that ‘life is a changeable thing’, so, rather than seeing peace as something for the afterlife, at Quaker Social Action (QSA) we would argue that peace is possible in the here and now, but that it is also ‘a changeable thing’.
We have all, no doubt, experienced a lack of peace. This may have been within our own mind, or our household, or our community. Sometimes the thing which brings back a peace of mind is external to us; sometimes it is something we are able to achieve by ourselves. At QSA, we see people who have the odds stacked against them. Their resilience has been eroded, and therefore their ability to find peace of mind within their own resources is greatly diminished.
This is why, when we talk about our anti-poverty work, we don’t just look at the issue through an economic lens. Living in a precarious household, or grappling with a horrible crisis that seems unsolvable, creates a poverty of wellbeing, a poverty of hope and, fundamentally, a poverty of peace.
We know that any peace of mind we offer can be fragile. We can illustrate this with the story of one participant on our This Way Up programme, which uses individual coaching and group mindfulness sessions to accelerate someone’s ability to move from being stuck to regaining a sense of their own agency.
This is how she describes her situation: ‘I became a single parent to end an abusive relationship… which started a painful battle in court and my ex-partner stopped sending financial child support. I had to stop work in 2018, after accumulating childcare debts. I’ve been suffering from anxiety and struggled to get back on my feet after Covid. In 2021 we had a bedbug infection that took months to overcome. I had to throw most of our belongings and furniture. I’ve been slowly trying to refurnish our flat. All of this has affected me and how I handle my finances, my job search or my family.’
And this is how she describe the impact of the This Way Up programme: ‘I can reach peace. I’m less anxious when I think about the close future and the next steps for me. It brought clarity and I feel more grounded and in control and I have better understanding of my emotions… I feel like I have the tools to handle all that now. My situation is the same, and I’m the same person, but I feel different – it’s like a Lego set, the pieces are the same but they look and feel different, brighter and more open, now.’ She goes on to say that her goal in life is to carry the learning of the programme as long as she can, but we sense this might be hard. After all, peace is a changeable thing.
In our work, we understand this. Because isn’t it true for all of us, sometimes? The clouds can clear from one particular challenge or worry, and we can feel the wonderful relief of feeling that we’ve got peace of mind again. But then here comes life, throwing another obstacle into our path.
How can we develop further the work that QSA and many others do, to bring peace of mind? In his book The Moral Imagination, John Paul Lederac reflects upon conflict resolution work and asks ‘Is peacebuilding an art or a skill?’ He observes that great peacebuilding works comes from: a deep integrity of purpose; a set of core principles; and a creative mindset. By way of example he describes the work of the Association of Peasant Workers in 1980s Colombia. Faced with guerrilla fighting threatening their communities, this group decided to talk, with maximum transparency, to each armed group. But it first established a set of clear principles:
- ‘Faced with isolation: Solidarity. Everything in teams. Together.
- ‘Faced with the law of silence: Complete transparency. We will speak openly, and all are invited to our meetings.
- ‘Faced with fear: Sincerity and a disposition to dialogue. We will understand those who do not understand us.
- ‘Faced with violence: Talk and negotiate with everyone. We do not have enemies.’
The group went on to establish the first civilian-initiated peace zones in Colombia.
So the key is not just what you do, but how you do it, and how you step into a space of deep integrity and compassion. In our work at QSA we frequently encounter people who are afraid and/or excluded, and we also work with those who, like us, are seeking to support them towards better peace of mind.
In our Money Guiders England Network, for example, we support a community of thousands of people who work across the country, giving money advice to others. We recognise that this, like peacebuilding, is not just a skill, but is also an art. So as well as equipping our volunteers with practical tools and examples of best practice, we also acknowledge the burden that they have to carry.
It is tough to lose one’s peace of mind. And it is also tough to see others suffering, and feel that your capacity to support them is limited. We want all our money guide volunteers to be at peace, so that when they switch on their computer, pick up their notebooks, open the doors, and turn on the lights, they can welcome the people they help, secure in the knowledge they are giving the best possible help to others with, thanks to us, the highest quality support.
If we are to avoid burnout, the only way forward is to focus on what is possible, and what is good enough. By approaching people who are afraid and excluded with sincerity and dialogue, we will have some impact, even if small scale and transitory. Peace, after all, is a changeable thing.
Like the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. So if we wish to support peace of mind for others, we must build that resilience in ourselves. St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation & Peace, in the heart of the City of London, offers a ‘radical resilience’ programme. Working at the intersection of climate and peace, staff and volunteers there seek to grow ‘courage and purpose in an age of gathering storms’. Let us all find ways to align ourselves with that admirable aim.
Judith and Jez work for QSA.
