Beginner's Guide to Peace - A New Direction
“We're on the road to nowhere..” - The Talking Heads
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” - Lao Tzu
Lost and Found
Life is a journey. Sometimes the travel is smooth and easy. Other times it can be extremely difficult. Sometimes the travel is both exciting and demanding, slowed by challenges but driven forward by the hope of new discoveries. Other times we meet obstacles that force us to change course or abandon a familiar road. Inevitably we all experience at least one dead end.
Sometimes we find ourselves utterly lost. For those times it makes sense to halt the onward push, to pause and get our bearings. Otherwise, we risk finding ourselves even further from our desired destination.
A Friendly Guide
The purpose of this site is to provide direction and guidance for those who are weary from their current travels, confused by the noise, tired of being misguided and misinformed. It is for those who seek to live free and peaceful lives but have been led astray, deceived to believe that a better world can only be achieved through coercion and control.
This site is about a beautifully simple, life-affirming idea called the Non-Aggression Principle. Starting with the observable truth that we are owners of our own bodies, the NAP is the ultimate expression of individual freedom (self ownership) tempered with personal responsibility. Building on a sound foundation of reason and evidence, the NAP offers a rational and practical guide for living a compassionate, peaceful and productive life, in harmony with others and with the world at large.
Your life journey is unique to you. Although you may, and hopefully will, share your journey with many loving and interesting companions, your lifetime voyage is distinctly yours. May you have both the freedom and peace needed to live life to its fullest.
Maximize Your Experience
Pictures are an important element to this guide. They have been carefully chosen to help tell the story of the Non-Aggression Principle. Many of the images are grouped and related to each other in various ways to add depth to the narrative and to move the story forward, while other pictures are designed to serve as peaceful rest stops to give one pause and allow for quiet contemplation.
A number of the pictures, like those on this page, are designed to be interactive. If you are using a desktop or laptop computer, you will see an alternate image, text and\or animation when you hover over many of the pictures. If using a tablet or smart phone you will need to tap once on the graphic to see the alternate image and then tap once outside the picture to return to the original.
The Search for Peace and Liberty
Finally, as a fun way to promote the NAP logo, we have embedded the NAP symbol within 55 images scattered throughout the website, not counting the banner at the top of each page and the wooden signs usually found near the bottom. For most of the pictures the location of the logo will be obvious, but there are some instances where the symbol may be quite small or partially obscured, especially in some of the latter pages.
The NAP logo was created to embody the Non-Aggression Principle and its embrace of both anarchy and peace, of freedom and nonviolence. It is free to be used by all who share these values and who wish to express their opposition to aggression and coercive power, whether it be by individuals, groups or the State. More information on its usage and links to downloadable versions of the logo can be found on the Feedback page.
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Essentials
- If you are lost, it is better to pause and determine the correct direction.
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Picture Credits
^ Compass: Artwork by Andrew Lesko.
^ A beautiful idea:
Photo of statue in the Garden of Versailles and artwork by Andrew Lesko.
