We are the guests, not the kings of this place —
feet on borrowed soil,
lungs filled by someone else’s trees,
drinking light filtered through kindness
we did not invent.

We are the guests —
and the hosts, if we choose to be.

We set the table with gentleness.
We pass the bread of understanding.
We pour the wine of truth —
even when it tastes bitter.

We do not fear conflict —
we learn its language.
We do not punish pain —
we make space for it to speak.

When a child weeps,
we kneel, not scold.
When a friend rages,
we listen, not fix.

We plant not for profit,
but for the bees.
We build not for power,
but for shade.

The Earth is not a prize.
It is a pulse.
And we,
if we are wise,
keep time with it.

Peace is not a treaty,
not an anthem,
not a day off.

It is a way of walking.
A way of teaching.
A way of remembering
we belong to each other
and to everything.

So we breathe.
We bow.
We begin again.

Govert van Ginkel

This article is written by Govert van Ginkel. Govert specializes in Nonviolent and Effective Communication and is active in this field as a trainer, speaker, coach, and mediator. More information about Govert can be found here. The current training offer can be found here