SOPHIE SPILLARD, ARTIST

We are ONE, by Sophie Spillard

“Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine” (Menachem Begin). 

“We are all explorers in life, whichever path we follow” (Fridtjof Nansen), and while "the path ahead [may sometimes be] neither easy nor short ... it is a path [that] we must walk ... with integrity, with compassion, and with determination" (Navi Pillay). "Love has already set our future in motion” (María Corina Machado) and "faith is [in] taking the first step when you don't see the whole staircase" (Martin Luther King Jr.). “Faith must not be lost, and courage must not be lacking” (Nicholas Murray Butler), because “deep faith eliminates fear” (Lech Wałęsa). Success might simply be "measured by our willingness and our courage" (María Corina Machado), and more importantly still, by the “small things [that we do] with great love” (Mother Teresa). “Every act of kindness matters” (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), and “real success is success with self” (Anwar al-Sadat). 

“The joy of living is his who has the heart to demand it” (Theodore Roosevelt). “Don’t be afraid to dream boldly” (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf). “The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough” (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf).  

“Dare to believe in a better, more just world” (Navi Pillay), because while “the world is not ours to keep” (Kofi Annan), it is “a world of beauty and wonder” (Wangari Maathai), and it is ours to protect. “Everyone has a role in building a better world” (American Friends Service Committee). “All it takes is commitment, and courage” (Navi Pillay) - and “courage is contagious. Very contagious” (Betty Williams).  

“Face change full of courage” (Emily Greene Balch), for “fear weakens the nerves and distorts the judgment” (Emily Greene Balch). “Turn struggles into solidarity, vulnerability into strength, and despair into hope”. “Defuse hate with love” (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), with the knowledge that “all conflicts can be resolved” (Martti Ahtisaari) and that it is possible to “leave [all our troubles] behind us if we wish” (David Trimble). "Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear” (Nelson Mandela), yet great "courage is required to forgive" (José Ramos-Horta). “Courage [is] not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it” (Nelson Mandela). Remember: “hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that” (Martin Luther King Jr.), so “come bearing an olive branch” (Yasser Arafat). 

“We are all interdependent” (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War), and whilst “difference is of the essence of humanity” (John Hume), “seeing my neighbour as my equal changes everything” (World Food Programme). “A person is a person because he recognises others as persons” (Desmond Tutu). “What should be common among us, is love and peace” (Tawakkol Karman). 

“Peace is ultimately an act of love” (María Corina Machado), and “peace begins with a smile" (Mother Teresa).