The concepts of peace are incomplete without context. 
(Ogunnusi 2020, 41).

Words that, rather than troubled, comforted my confused mind. I was in week two when I read my way through Michael Ogunnusi’s work about young people and peace education[1]. Alongside questioning the concepts of peace, I found myself taking the picture attached to this post. At this given moment, I felt at peace...

To reflect upon the past weeks, I start by revealing my research project’s title (as it is now): “Young people’s experience with peace education: From inner to outer peace”. Studying inner and outer peace in the context of peace education has been comforting yet challenging. It has made me realise, recognise, and appreciate my own everyday peace as well as the wonderful work of scholars, practitioners, and advocators in the field of peace education. These aspects of my research journey are truly joyful. However, it remains a challenge to define what peace and inner peace are in a concise and comprehensive manner. This is a particular challenge because peace and inner peace mean different things to different people in different contexts. Therefore, my intention to first define the concepts to then carry out my research was based on the flawed premise that I could define them at all. While my supervisor, who patiently has guided me through this difficulty, and the Laidlaw Team acknowledge such challenges, I only know the extent to which this has complicated my research after having experienced it. From these past weeks, I reckon that I, like many others, need an embodied experience to take challenges seriously. As trivial as this might sound, my research process has both humbled and helped me with this reminder to which I am thankful. It is a universal struggle to define concepts within and beyond most academic disciplines, so my compassion goes out to anyone who is facing these difficulties too.

However, there is good news. As I learned this weekend at a conference in Edinburgh[2], some concepts (like peace and inner peace) are simply beyond conceptual understanding. Importantly, this does not mean that they do not exist. The good news is that they can be experienced, like Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche[3], for example, states about the human mind. We do not conceptually understand nor define what the mind is. But we know that the mind exists because we experience having a mind. Similarly, my research supports how peace and inner peace, regardless of how we define them, do indeed exist. Without expanding too much on my methodology, I have collected qualitative data by surveying and interviewing young people about peace education and inner peace. These young people; whose contributions have made my study possible; have shared their lived experiences of peace and inner peace. At the heart of my challenge to define the concepts, their collective words have given me the courage to, rather than discredit, persist that they are real phenomena worthy of studying. Equally, paraphrasing Michael Ogunnusi[3], who generously shared his insights with me last week, peace and inner peace are exciting, fluid, and organic experiences. Thus, my research journey has taught me a lot along the way to accept that having a complete conceptual framework would be incomplete – at least at the current state of my project.

As writing this, the final week of the research period has sneaked up on me, which feels unreal and scarily real at the same time. It feels unreal because; I do not have a nicely neat product; I know that there is so much out there that I do not know; and I still wake up with passion and energy to conduct my research. In contrast, it feels scarily real because; I have completed my research to-do-list (adjusted and re-adjusted); the number of lengthy notes and data is ready to be analysed; and I must draw a line in the sand and answer: “So, what now?” From reassuring conversations with other Laidlaw scholars and our weekly research lectures, I know that this duality is not unique. Instead, the fact that reality can feel both unreal and real appears to be the true workings of any research project. Besides the calendar date, Dr Shruti Narayanaswamy’s words from last week’s lecture: “A good project is a finished project” pushes me to face reality.

I know that my research will take the form of a nicely neat product, but I – and now you as well – also know how multi-layered the process behind has been. Like the concepts of peace and inner peace, my research experience transcends conceptual understanding. Meanwhile, the feeling I sit with now is tangible. I feel immense gratitude for the connections that I have made and the skills that I have developed to take my research further and to conduct my upcoming Leadership in Action Project. Since I know that my research will humble me (again and again), I can proudly say that my findings are developed in dialogue with fascinating people across the world, who work within realms of power, ranging from the UN and the Scottish Parliament to teachers and young people in schools[4]. Though we may never nor should ever succinctly define peace and inner peace, my research hints that the path toward peace education is diverse and uniting in its nature. Thus, while I do finish my project in a few days, I continue listening to and engaging with other young people who speak back to my research and consider the concepts of peace and inner peace with, alongside, and beyond me.

I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Alice König, my Laidlaw cohort, and Lord Laidlaw and the Foundation for the support and opportunity to pursue this important work.

[1] If this topic is of interest, I highly recommend Michael Ogunnusi’s PhD titled: “Young people, situated learning, and peace praxis at the margins of everyday life”.

[2] A conference titled: “Anytime, anywhere meditation”. Academics, practitioners, and other experts discussed the practical implications and challenges of peace education, and inner and outer peace from various perspectives. Hyperlink to read more.

[3] Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Swanson, Eric. 2009. “Introduction.” In The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, p 41, London: Bantam Books.

[4] Thanks to Dr Helen Berents, Never Such Innocence, Quaker Britain, World Beyond War, The 50 percent, who, among young people and teachers, have shared their valuable insights with me.