The presence of peace is an inside job. . .

I was with a group of friends last night and our discussion centered around the attainment of peace.  It’s illusive, for sure.  We can want it desperately and even be living it, but in the blink of an eye the ego can high-jack us into making judgments and all peace is gone.  The antidote is to keep turning our judgments over to our Higher Power to whisk them away.  If we surrender them, peace will be our reward.  If . . .

One member of our group mentioned seeing a bumper sticker recently that read: World Peace Flows From Inner Peace.  I like that.  In fact, I think it’s the only certain way of realizing world peace.  It reminds me of the Peace Song that is sung at the end of many Unity Church services.  The final phrase of the song is “peace begins with me.”  The first time I heard the song was at a Unity Church in Golden Valley, MN in 1976.  I was so moved by the message that I cried.  Truth is always heard loud and clear.

I would have to say that my fondest hope, at this stage of my life, is that I reflect peace to the other people I encounter every day.  Being a “model” for the peaceful choice is clearly a worthy, daily purpose.  As I age, I seek for the simpler path.  Joining fruitless arguments doesn’t appeal to me any more.  I may have to bite my tongue, and do occasionally, but that’s a far more grace-filled way to live than how I presented myself in the first four decades of life. Then I loved the battleground.  It seemed unavoidable.  I had learned how to excel in that role during my childhood while living in a household where battles were constant.

Making a different choice about how to act, how to speak, how to listen and witness the lives of others, has changed every element of my life.  My relationships with my family are pleasant.  My husband and I are best friends. And I walk into every experience with a hopeful, expectant heart.  None of these things were true at an earlier time.  And nothing on the outside changed.  It was an inside job.  It will always need to be an inside job.  And that’s the good news for all of us.  Others can’t make us do any thing against our will.  If we want to enjoy peace-filled lives, we can.  The added benefit is that that choice adds to the peace of the world at large.  That’s a lofty idea.  But ever so true.

Do you want to add to world peace?  It’s a purpose worth living and savoring and modeling for others.  Give peace a chance, as John Lennon said, and feel your heart at rest.