To those who would make war

"To those that would make war:
Take a journey for one year around the globe.  Travel by boat, car, bicycle, train, and aeroplane.  Walk mountain paths and desert roads, swim in rivers, lakes and in the sea.  Glide in an open aircraft, hear the whisper of air in your ears, and feel the sun beating on your skin.  Walk along a deserted beach with a full moon in the evening sky, stand by a big bonfire and cook your supper by its flames then quench your thirst in cool streams of mountain water. Wriggle your toes in the sand and breathe in the warm mists of the sea. Dive off a rock into a mountain pool or found a busy school and sit still, listening to the children playing in the yard. Eat ice cream on a sunny day and stand in the pouring rain with no coat on. Go fishing in the river or sailing on the sea. Sit down and write a poem to the one you love most or go for a walk as the sun goes down outside your tent. Climb a tree, learn to ski, or teach a child to build a snowman. Pick apples or grapes at the harvest and enjoy windfalls as the sun goes down. Each fresh fruit from a smiling vendor at the market place. Have supper in the piazza with people you have never met and wish them well like old friends afterward. Listen to the song of birds in the tree, see the eagle soar in the air far above you, and sit on a cold night with a warm cup of coffee and tell stories around the fireplace...Gaze up into the clear evening sky and try to count the stars or sing a song to your loved one...Then you will find it is in the simple things in life that the true beauty of this earth shines through. Those that would fight have no conception of real beauty. This is their real need -- to feel loved and at peace..."

-- Anon