The Language of Relations and the Peace We Are

Peace is not something we achieve. It is what we are—the relational ground (tayo) from which we have become disconnected. This paper argues that colonialism and the Westphalian state broke the language of relations: the practice of co-narration (Isig-ka-ingon) through which humans, the more-than-human, ancestors, and the unborn together constitute reality (Kalibutan). The "great disconnect" is the felt experience of living in this brokenness; violence is its fire. Drawing on Filipino thinkers (Salazar, 1991; Rodil, 2003; Gaspar, 2010) and communities (Lumad, Moro), the paper presents Mindanao as a specimen—a place where the breaking of relation is unusually visible, and where its restoration can be glimpsed. Peace is the cessation of denial: the recognition of what has always been here. Through engagement with contemporary peace studies (Richmond, 2023; Mac Ginty, 2021) and extended analysis of Palestine and Ukraine, the paper demonstrates the portability of Filipino concepts for understanding conflict globally.