Peace is a Choice

From Peace is a Choice:

It is December 31st and I have reached my goal of making a conscious decision for peace each day of this year. As I spent a part of my day today re-reading the posts for this year I couldn’t help but think how all those small steps transformed my life and maybe some of the lives of the people that took time to read my blog. 

This year I have learned so much about people all around me and around the world that are also seeking peace.  I felt connected to a movement for peace that is so much bigger than just me.  A movement that is changing the world drastically.  I believe my choices and your choices, even though they may seem small and insignificant at times, have and will make a difference. 

As I look back at my various choices here are some of the things I have come to understand about peace this year:

1.  Every single second no matter what the circumstances, I have the opportunity to choose peace, first as a personal response and then as a public response to whatever is happening. 

2.  Peace is the choice to care about a relationship more than just getting my own way, the weird bonus is that once I have made that decision the outcome is almost always better than my original desire.

3.  Sometimes I just need to take a deep breath, do something different, or take a nap before addressing something that is causing conflict.  I need to re-balance my emotions in order to think clearly about the best choice for peace.  This year I have learned to give myself permission to do that.  Wisdom takes time.

4.  It doesn’t matter how amazing Disneyland is, if a child is cranky they need a nap before they can enjoy it.  It is the same for my life, if I put too much on myself I am not going to get the same satisfaction and joy out of life as I would if I did less and enjoyed the moments more. 

5.  There are a lot of good people in the world doing amazing things to make the world a better place all the time.  I refuse to let my mind be corrupted by the sensationalism of media that harps on the negativity of the few while completely ignoring the beauty of the many.

6.  When I lose perspective on peace in my life, my place in the universe, or the future, I will be gentle with myself, take a walk, drink a cup of tea, read good books, and buy myself and a neighbor some flowers.  I will remember the gentle mantra of Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all matter of things shall be well.”

7.  If we look there are always, always, always solutions.  These solutions are usually more simple than we think, we just have to use our hearts and heads to figure them out instead of assuming there is no other answer.

8.  We are stronger together.  We need each other.  We need to appreciate our differences for spice and to focus on what we have in common for sugar.

9.  Assuming the positive intent of everyone around me prevents a lot of misunderstandings.

10.  I became a more peaceful person this year.  Since this happened for me, I fully believe it can happen for the world. One peaceful choice at a time.