Sow the Seeds of Peace

Dear Lions,

I have never had much of a green thumb, but I know the importance of gardening. I know we will reap what we sow. And if we don’t plant the seeds of kindness and love, we will not see the glow of peace.

Every year we ask students to show us what peace means to them through our Peace Poster and Essay contests, and the results never fail to astound me. They paint beautiful, vividly colored portraits of love and harmony; sharing and understanding. I am encouraged by their vision of the potential of our world. And while all their versions of peace are different, there is one common thread: They all depict a universal connectedness.

Peace is something that can only happen when we all recognize our universal connection. I am you and you are me.  

I believe the world is capable of so much love and compassion. I believe the world can know peace. And it starts with helping one another. It starts with service. It starts with Lions.

Lions, for all the love you bring to your communities and to the world. Thank you for being the seed of peace. It is my greatest hope that each kindness we sow will reap another in return, and then another until we can all see as clear as day exactly how connected we all are.

And eventually, peace—not just as a concept, but as a reality—will grow everywhere in our world.

Yours in service,

Douglas X. Alexander

International President, Lions Clubs International