December Magical Moment #18 Creating Peace
When we think about the fighting around the world it has a sobering impact on us. We may feel hopeless and helpless. Not much we can do as individuals to change policy, prejudices, and other factors creating turmoil. But one thing we can do is focus on creating peace inside ourselves, inside our families, and inside our communities. Taking a gentler approach is do-able. Striving to see other view points without the urge to "be right" is possible. Teaching our children to accept individual differences is achievable. Reminding ourselves of the positives in people is managable.
I'm not naive, creating PEACE is NOT easy. Even in our own families children fight, sibling rivalry exists and old hurts linger. We can't solve it all but we can create a mind set that says a peaceful existence with others is a priority here! On a larger scale, sometimes we act kindly toward others and "uphold their rights" only to have them reject us or condemn us for reasons we can't begin to understand. It still doesn't mean a "peaceful approach" to living isn't the right thing to do. Sometimes creating peace is about doing difficult things during difficult times with little "payoff". But remember that regardless of others reactions we are creating peace inside ourselves and in the end that will say more about us than anything else.
When we think about the fighting around the world it has a sobering impact on us. We may feel hopeless and helpless. Not much we can do as individuals to change policy, prejudices, and other factors creating turmoil. But one thing we can do is focus on creating peace inside ourselves, inside our families, and inside our communities. Taking a gentler approach is do-able. Striving to see other view points without the urge to "be right" is possible. Teaching our children to accept individual differences is achievable. Reminding ourselves of the positives in people is managable.
I'm not naive, creating PEACE is NOT easy. Even in our own families children fight, sibling rivalry exists and old hurts linger. We can't solve it all but we can create a mind set that says a peaceful existence with others is a priority here! On a larger scale, sometimes we act kindly toward others and "uphold their rights" only to have them reject us or condemn us for reasons we can't begin to understand. It still doesn't mean a "peaceful approach" to living isn't the right thing to do. Sometimes creating peace is about doing difficult things during difficult times with little "payoff". But remember that regardless of others reactions we are creating peace inside ourselves and in the end that will say more about us than anything else.