May 30 is recognized as Memorial Day in the U.S.; a day that honors those who have served in the military, as well as their families whose support has allowed them to do so. While I certainly hold them in my heart, I don’t glorify war. I prefer instead to honor peace and as well, those peaceful warriors who see unity rather than divisiveness, reconciliation rather than conflict.
As I was putting out a call to the Universe for inspiration for this week’s Bliss Blog’s entries, a response came instantaneously from my highly intuitive friend Liora Hill who must have been listening even as she lives 3 hours South of me in the Baltimore area. It is on a subject near and dear to my heart.
This was her email:
PEACE
“Harmonious Relations”.
“A state that is calm and tranquil”.
“The absence of mental stress and anxiety”.
“A treaty to cease hostilities”.
“The state prevailing during the absence of war”.
“Peacemaker- someone who keeps peace”.
Definitions from the dictionary.
Peace is a virtue we all possess. Many times it has to be activated, acted on and expressed. The more we do it, it becomes a way of life. We then are Peace! Wherever we go, Peace Is!
Enjoy the Sistas singing
Let There Be Peace”
Sweet Honey in the Rock™ – Let There Be Peace
http://youtu.be/QrXB3xD8NRI
When I consider the idea of peace, I have come to learn that it, like most other things, is an inside job. No one gives it to me and no one has the ability to take it from me. When I have lost my footing and gotten toppled over in a less than peaceful moment, I know that I can regain it, by allowing serene thoughts to flow through my ever so buzzy mind. I have been known to disturb my own peace with images of shoulda-woulda -coulda, what if and if only? I have been at war with myself when battling with the armored soldiers of criticism and judgment. I have sacrificed myself on the altar of self deprecation. I have thrown myself on the sword of separation. Unless I am peace with myself and my various ‘warring factions’, I am unable to have peaceful relations with anyone, so fraught with hard and jangly energy am I. It is easy to see ‘enemies’ when I am in separation mode and easier to see compatriots when I am in unity consciousness. In truth, there is ‘no one out there’…we are all us.
Peace is not some lofty ideal somewhere out there. It is born in each moment, each thought that crosses our minds. Are we harboring war-like thoughts that pound away at us, and by extension all of our relationships or are we holding out our hands in acceptance of the ‘other’? Are we putting out wounding weaponry with our words or are we offering an olive branch? Collectively, our thoughts are powerful. Are we willing to be that ‘greater force for good in the world? The choice, as always, is ours.
Likely one of the first songs on the subject that I was introduced to is Let There Be Peace on Earth. (Seymour Miller & Jill Jackson, “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” 1955)
My friends Peter Moses and his lovely wife Jackie Hurley revised the lyrics which we sing at the close of services at Circle Of Miracles, an interfaith community that I attend. I like them even better than the original, because they speak of the present moment awareness and experience of peace.
“Now there is peace on Earth and it has begun with me.
Now there is peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be.
With God as Creator, united all are we.
Let us walk with each other, in peace and harmony.
Peace has begun with me, and this is the moment NOW
With every breath I take, now this is my joyous vow.
I take each moment and live each moment, in peace eternally.
Now there is peace on Earth and it has begun with me.”
James Twyman, known as The Peace Troubador who has traveled worldwide, sings a powerful tribute to peace, beckoning all to the table where there is enough for everyone.
May Peace Prevail on Earth
My friend Deb Chamberlin co-wrote a song with her husband Robert Wynn that is my favorite peace anthem called The Time Has Come. She has performed it with a talented group of Philly local performers whose enthusiam spills forth. Can you see them singing this at the U.N. and the White House? I can.
Some peace quotes to plant the seeds in your own heart…
You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. ~Attributed to both Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi
I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it. ~Dwight Eisenhower
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