When did we loose the PEACE?
I'm letting my inner hippie come to the surface, here's why...
Peace has lost it’s cool and has been replaced by greed. Greed is ugly! It makes my stomach knot and I’ve since ditched friends because of their greed and capitalism. Peace needs a come back!
This weekend I saw something quietly magical, in a state of bliss under blue skies I felt a prang of deep internal inspiration and calling.
A group of genuine, shoeless, flower-wearing hippies were dancing in a field—eyes closed, arms stretched to the sky—while Peace Train was sung by Cat Stevens who I am sure has definitely seen a few festivals.
And as the music floated over the grass, I heard him say:
“I didn’t think I’d still be singing this song 20 years on and it still being so important…”
That landed hard. We’ve lost our peace.
As I watched the peace themed visuals swirl around the screen behind the band, I kept thinking about peace as a concept and way of life. Peace has lost it’s cool and has been replaced by greed. Greed is ugly! It makes my stomach knot and I’ve since ditched friends because of their greed and capitalism. Peace needs a come back!
I’m an observer, I like to watch people live their day to day whether it’s on the train into the city, or as I’m out for coffee whilst walking our dog. We’ve come so far in society and yet somehow… not far at all or enough.
The need for peace—within ourselves, between each other, and across the world—hasn’t gone anywhere. The lyrics from Peace Train still echo in my mind:
“Now I've been cryin' lately
Thinkin' about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating?
Why can't we live in bliss?
'Cause out on the edge of darkness
There rides a peace train
Oh, peace train take this country
Come take me home again”
In that moment, watching strangers dance, their wrinkled fingers in a peace sign in the air, listening to a song the same age as most of them, I felt it: freedom.
Not the big, cinematic kind. Not the backpacking-through-Thailand kind. But the quiet kind. The inner peace filled freedom.
The kind that lives in presence. In choosing joy. In knowing that no matter what chaos is out there, you can still choose to meet the moment with softness, not sharpness.
We need to make peace cool again.
Not just globally, but personally.
We’re living in times that reward rage, performance, perfection. Look around society and it’s consumed with greed. More money, more success, more followers, more likes, a bigger house - for what purpose? In my book The Confidence Ritual you can read how I worked with extremely wealthy people, many of them miserable. Greed is ruling so much of society and it needs softening down. What if softness became strength?
What if dancing barefoot to a 70s ballad with your phone off was the ultimate rebellion? That’s another thing about going to a concert with a crowd full of baby boomers - no phones out!
This week, I’m asking myself:
How can I choose peace first?
How can I live like I’m already on the Peace Train?
I don’t have all the answers. But I know that freedom isn’t just about what we run from—it’s also about what we’re running toward.
Let me know your thoughts!
Love Always XX Jules
Love this. I often wonder if it’s age related? As I get older I find I want softness, and yes, peace. Xx
Let that inner hippie out, Jules! I agree, there's no peace. How we measure our self-worth is so external vs internal. As you say, it's the accumulation, the gathering, the having and all of that is somehow given value if it's more than someone else.