by Tim Sullivan, Board President

As 2025 comes to an end, I thought it might be appropriate to share some reflections on peace. The first thing I did was ask AI to give me some quotes from famous people on peace. As you can imagine there were lots of them, really good ones, comments on how to find inner peace, how to create world peace, and on what peace really is. In the end, it felt like I needed to share something from deep within my own experience.

I began to reflect on the world realities, and by any measure 2025 has been a difficult year when it comes to peace. Between wars, gun violence, injustice and environmental destruction this quickly became a very dark paragraph. Once again, it was a place where I didn't care to stay.

And then something remarkable happened. I received a WhatsApp message from Francisco, who is the Servas International Co-Peace Secretary. It was a message of hope and action from a young person who is working hard to build peace. He introduced me with a photo to his new niece and his father. This is some of what he said:

“Hi Dear Tim,

I'd like to introduce you to my niece and my dad. She's the youngest member and he's the oldest member of Servas in Mexico. They are my greatest inspiration and motivation for contributing and doing my best as a volunteer for Servas through peace building, prompt hospitality and kind actions. These are my main ways to promote peace.”

Wow, as I reflected on Francisco's message, it brought a tear to my eye, and I realized my reflection on peace also needed to be one of hope and action.

I'm at a stage of life where I know all my hopes and dreams for peace in the world will not happen in my lifetime. Once I heard a scientist say, “If you expect to complete the work you're doing in your lifetime, you are thinking too small.” In most cases, I believe this to be true. So, I'm okay with not seeing my dreams of peace coming to complete fruition before I die. I trust that somehow all is well in the universe and humanity will eventually get its act together. 

••  If you expect to complete the work you're doing in your lifetime, you are thinking too small ••

An example is my practice of planting acorns from our native oak trees. If you plant a walnut, it grows like a weed, but an oak is a lot slower. When that walnut tree is six feet tall, the oak tree you planted at the same time, is maybe one foot tall… if you are lucky. This work is definitely for the next generation, and I love it.

Each of us can only do our own small part. My work is in many different areas, it is kind of like the saying, “A jack of all trades and a master of none.” I try to live lightly on the land and not be complicit in violence of any sort. But I recognize that many times I fail. In general, I'm not a person to be in your face with my viewpoint, rather I attempt to share my perspective by the way I live my life. A wisdom teacher of mine often says “Rather than complaining, we to try to teach by practicing the better.” I think that's very much in line with what we do at Servas. We are practicing a form of travel that is lighter on the planet and attempting to transform hearts, minds, and so lives with cultural exchange and our hospitality.

One thing I do know is transformation of hearts is necessary and only happens with a deep experience of the other. One of my most intimate experiences was living in a migrant shelter on the border in El Paso. When you get up in the morning to brush your teeth and you share a sink with an indigenous woman from Guatemala (who certainly does not know English and maybe not even Spanish) and her two small children, you begin to see we are all one with the same desires and hopes for our children.

As members of Servas, this is what we do. In our own small way by traveling and hosting, we are attempting to transform not only others but our own hearts.

Practicing non-violence and peace building is something like meditation. In attempting to empty my mind during meditation, I must continually repeat the process when my mind strays. This is true of trying to live in the moment which is critical to living a non-violent and peaceful existence. I constantly have to bring myself back to that peace-filled place.

•• by traveling and hosting, we are attempting to transform not only others but our own hearts ••

One of our practices at our home in Western Iowa is to restore native tall grass prairie. An image I often use to start my day focuses on the Big Bluestem grass. It is a grass native to the Midwestern prairies. It first grows roots that can go down 16’ deep and then grows tall. It provides seed for birds, deer, and the next generation of Big Bluestem as well as winter shelter for many small animals. In addition, Big Bluestem sequesters a significant amount of CO2 as it gives off O2.

I reflect on my desire to live in the Spirit of the Big Bluestem, with a deep foundation in the Earth (or if you prefer Divine Love). My desire is to be fruitful on this particular day; with the people that I meet, the next generation, and for the entire planet.  Finally, I think about my desire to respond calmly and with kindness in the face of adversity as the Big Bluestem responds to wind, storms or fire; always returning upright and simply doing what Big Bluestem was created to do. What would it mean for humans to just do what humans were created to do? Could it be to create a community of love and peace? It seems that is exactly what Servas is all about. Thank you all for your peace building efforts through Servas!

My new year wish for Servas members and all of humanity is a life lived in the ‘Spirit of the Big Bluestem’!