Following is a letter from an inmate at the Buncombe County Detention Facility in Asheville, North Carolina, expressing his appreciation for the Peace Education Program.
I am an inmate at the Buncombe County Detention Facility in Asheville, North Carolina. I am currently participating in the Peace Education Program (PEP). I want to thank Prem Rawat for bringing the message of hope and peace, as well as the understanding that true peace comes from within oneself, and that you must know yourself before you can be at peace with yourself!
As a human being, I’m trying to figure out who I am. I am 25 years old, yet I’m opening my eyes and my heart for the first time. PEP has done a lot to help me and is giving me the tools to aid with my self-discovery. I understand that there is no time better than now to spread the message that peace can be achieved.
We, as human beings, take so much for granted each and every day, like sunrises and sunsets, the simple beauty of nature. The world is too fast-paced. People need to slow down. People feel that because they have a lot of material things that they have peace. I’ve spent most of the last year and a half homeless. I thought I was happy because there was no inner turmoil within myself. I thought I had peace. But I wasn’t happy about what I didn’t have and wanted more.
I’m at the point now that I realize peace isn’t about what you have or don’t have. No, peace is about finding a balance within yourself to rid yourself of the inner battles and turmoil. Once that is accomplished, only then can true peace develop in the world.
“Autumn River” Barbara Gibbs, Photographer
