The theme of this year’s Mayday! conference is “Imagining Peace.” Each successive Mayday conference is about peace-related issues in some way. But what does the word “peace” really mean?

Peace is such a loaded word, so laced with connotation that it may seem to be devoid of any meaning, especially in the eyes of the public at large. This makes the issues confronted by the Mayday! Conference particularly relevant. The last time I heard anyone simply consider the very concept of peace was in elementary school. I attach the concept of peace to a crayon drawing of multicolored little figures holding hands in a circle around the globe in elementary school. Maybe this is because peace is unattainable—or maybe this is because the issue of peace and the issue of what constitutes peace is never treated seriously beyond that point, in 3rd grade drawing class.

It seems, especially in this harried age we live in, that peace is an unattainable concept rather than anything tangible. What makes Mayday! so helpful is that it brings peace down to the practical level and reminds us that peace does not necessarily mean a brown crayon figure holding hands with a white one. Mayday! confronts peace within topical or historical environments and finds peace—or the struggle for peace—lurking within.

Like “freedom,” “hate” or “love,” the word peace has been diluted so as not to have any defined attributes, and as such it is robbed of any real practicality to daily life. This makes the concept of peace incredibly elusive.

Words and images of hate, love and freedom are espoused by everyone from politicians to advertisers for the very reason that they conjure an emotion in the listener, despite the varied interpretations people may have of the word. Everyone has some conception of freedom, hate, and love. Peace is more ambiguous.

In our permanent military age, with a new war brewing every election season, people may frame peace as an issue of ensuring that war does not happen. The absence of conflict is one definition of peace. Indeed, the word peace may conjure in the minds of many an image of war protestors. This is an application of peace, but it ignores another component of what peace has come to mean. It also makes peace seem all the more unattainable. For it is true that competition and war may be simply traits of the human race. The basis for wars are too wide-ranging to ever find a true cause. And as such, it is likely impossible to find a cure for war. One classic example is the Israel-Palestine conflict. Seemingly unresolvable, the back-and-forth in the headlines seems to be a perpetual mobius strip of sorts.

So what about peace is truly attainable? Peace also has connotations of social justice, besides the association with global war and strife. How about the students who protested at Tianamen Square, highlighted in last year’s conference. In a highly visible show of solidarity, they created a compelling image. While they did not immediately succeed in bringing democracy to China, they created an idea that endured. Or the struggle in area communities, such as Minneapolis, of new immigrants trying to establish a basic level of sustenance—trying to have a decent life. Or advocates for the homeless in the Twin Cities. Peace does not have to be an all-encompassing thing that overtakes the whole planet (even if we might want it to be). Sometimes peace is embodied in small actions, even those that only affect your direct environment. In fact, this may be the only form of peace that is truly attainable. When thought about in this context, peace is eminently accessible.

So make sure to attend this year’s Mayday! conference, next Wednesday. Classes are even realigned to make it easy for you to attend. Revisit peace as something small. Realize that it can be as accessible as the cookies in the caf.