“Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away.” ~ Robert Fulghum
{Two fun loving young women (identified as “mom” and her best friend “Betty”) share a small wooden boat in this delightfully charming summertime shot from the 1940s. Don’t you just adore those white overall shorts and both of their lovely hairdos?}
{A darling group of tykes sets up their own roadblock of sorts in this wonderfully cute photo from taken in 1946. Can’t you just hear the little one whose on foot saying to a passerby, “Alright, Bub, hand over the penny candy and no one gets hurt!”.}
{Identified as “Adelaide Balles”, this pretty young woman perched atop a crescent moon shaped prop in a portrait studio, is the absolute picture of casually dressed 1930s (or early 40s) cuteness.}
{I adore vintage wedding photos of all types, but what drew me to this one in particular was that we got to see the precious little flower girl, in her generously sized cloche hat, included with the wedding party in this endearing shot from the 1930s.}
{Exquisite hand tinting work helped to capture the immense beauty of this young women (“Louise”), who posed – and flashed a gorgeous megawatt smile – for a studio portrait during the 1940s. For more equally sublime photos (including other hand tinted ones) of Louise from around the same era, be sure to check out the stream this image belongs to.}
{It is the fluid sense of movement – snow splaying out towards the camera – in this terrific action shot captured during a snowball fight, that instantly made me fall for this photo. Though undated, going off of the style of the couple’s coats, I’d peg this image to be from the 1910s-30s.}
{This patrician woman is grace and elegance personified as she smiles sweetly for the camera. Framed photographs of her grandchildren, visible on the piano behind her, help to convey what a happy and proud matriarch this gorgeously dressed lady was.}
{Four youngsters are bundled up in autumn coats as they happily play outdoors in this slice-of-life snapshot taken in Hawthorne, New Jersey during the 1950s.}
{In unison on three, everyone...one, two, three, “Gold punch buggy!” :D Though undated, this vibrantly sharp photo of a young woman crouching with a pair of tennis racquets in front of a Volkswagen Beetle, looks to me to be from the late 50s or very early 60s.}
{A large billboard sign in the right hand side of this charming New York city street scene from 1939 encourages the population to “Save For Your World of Tomorrow”, wise financial advice that rings as true today as it did seventy years ago.}
{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}
Immersed in the wondrousness, chaoticness, splendour and magic of the holiday season, it is natural to think thoughts pertaining to peace. The quote above spoke to me however because it drives home an important message: peace is not obtained through positive wishes alone, it will only come to be through the collectiveness of our actions as an entire population.
I believe that peace, like so many truly important lessons, begins at home. In the words and deeds that one teaches their children and by the same token through the tolerance that they show others, be they relatives or complete strangers on the other side of the world. Simplistic and pollyanna as it may sound, peace, I have long believed, is possible, if only we show love instead of hate, understanding and amicability instead of antipathy.
Now and forever, I will wish for peace, but at the same time I will try to do whatever measures, however small, in my own life to help make this world a more serene and joyful place to call home. For as these, and all other, photos of yesteryear intrinsically convey, our time on this earth is but a mere flash in the history of the universe. Yet every generation who has ever lived had within them the ability to create peace. Perhaps the one we're fortunate enough to be a part of will be the first to succeed at this monumental task.
