Diane Dreher

In these challenging times, many of us are longing for peace. But we may be confused about exactly what it is. What does peace look like and feel like? It has been described as:

 

·       A state of calm, security, and wellbeing

·       A state without fear

·       A state of wholeness, serenity, and trust

 

How do we reach this state of peace? Too many of us have fallen into a divisive dualism—the Manichaen heresy that spread across western Europe in the Middle Ages. And this belief still persists today: that we can only find peace by defeating those we perceive as evil. Thinking this way makes us see those who differ from us as the enemy, locking us into defensive and often violent struggles. This is not peace.

 

Peace is a state of harmony and inclusiveness, where together we find common ground. It is the power of "perfect love" that "casts out fear." Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King used this power to transcend and transform conflict, seeking the common bond of peace and justice for all.

 

And how do we find this peace? At church, we used to sing "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."  Peacemakers throughout history have realized this simple truth—that we all have the power to make peace, beginning with ourselves. And that we must begin with ourselves, for we cannot make peace around us if our hearts are filled with fear and hatred.

 

Research has shown how profoundly our personal energies and actions affect those around us. You may have felt this for yourself. Studies have found that even a friendly word and smile can bring greater wellbeing and peace of mind to both people—the giver and receiver, and can also begin a positive ripple effect, filling entire neighborhoods with a greater sense of connection and community (Fredrickson, 2009; 2013).

 

We can all become peacemakers, beginning right here and right now, by cultivating greater connection, greater understanding, greater harmony within and around us.

 

You can cultivate greater peace today:

·       By slowing down to listen more carefully to those around you.

·       By being kinder to everyone, including yourself.

·       By seeking common ground beneath your differences.

 

For there is always common ground. We're standing on it. It's this beautiful planet we call home.

 

I wish you greater peace each day.

 

References

Fredrickson, B.L. (2009). Positivity: Discover the upward spiral that will change your life. New York, NY: Harmony Books.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Love 2.0: How our supreme emotion affects everything we feel, think, do, and become. New York, NY: Hudson Street Press.

When I grew up, my father was an Air Force pilot and I followed him on his assignments around the world. The summer after I graduated from high school in Germany, my family returned to the states on an ocean liner. I still recall how I felt that morning at dawn when our ship entered New York harbor, passing the Statue of Liberty: I was coming home. 

 

In the many years since the statue arrived in this country in 1886, hundreds of thousands of people have been welcomed by Lady Liberty, feeling a sense of coming home to comfort, shelter, and new possibilities.

 

 As the words of poet Emma Lazarus (1903), inscribed on the statue's pedestal, declare:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
. . .Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 

In today's tumultuous times, it's often hard to feel at home. Many of us have lost the vital sense of belonging (Samuel, 2022), feeling distressed, isolated, and disconnected (Taylor, 2022).

 

If you've been missing a sense of home, take a moment now to:

Recall a time when you felt at home.

Connect with a comforting memory of that time.
Where were you? What did it look like? Who was there with you?

Bring that feeling to mind again. 
Feel yourself comforted, connected to a deep sense of home and belonging.
Focusing on your heart, take a deep mindful breath and slowly release it, taking in that feeling of coming home. 

Then, when you're ready, return to the present moment.
 

In the days to come, keep that feeling in mind. Ask how you can come home more often—perhaps by returning to a familiar spiritual tradition, pausing for a mindful sense of presence or expressing gratitude for the gifts and blessings of each day.

 

I wish you joy, peace, and a deep sense of home.

 

References

 

Lazarus, E. (1903). "The New Colossus." On the plaque at the Statue of Liberty. Public domain.

 

Samuel, K. (2022). Belonging: Finding connection in an age of isolation. New York, NY: Abrams Press.

 

Taylor, S. (2022). Disconnected: The roots of human cruelty and how connection can heal the world. Alresford, UK: John Hunt Publishing.

 

Despite all the political discord in our world, this season of  Spring is a time for renewal in many traditions.

 

For Catholics, it's a time for Lent and Easter,

For Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan,

For Jews, the festival of Purim,

And for the Chinese, New Year. This year is the year of the horse.

In many areas it's a time to begin Daylight Savings time.

 

For all of us, it's time to see the first signs of spring—

·       Golden daffodils blooming,

·       Buds and new leaves on deciduous trees,

·       Birds making their nests and singing in the trees above us.

 

How can you discover these signs of renewal in your life? Despite the discord around us, there are always signs of renewal in Spring.  

 

By connecting with some of these, you can find hope for new harmony in the days to come.

 

Take a few moments now to connect with the signs of Spring.

Can you look out your window to see signs of new life?

Or step outside to look around you?

Or think of an image of Spring you recall?  

 

·       What was it--New flowers in your garden? A blossoming fruit tree on your street? Something else? 

·       Pause to take a deep mindful breath and feel yourself one with this sense of new life, embracing the Springtime of renewal in the world around you. 

·       Focusing on your heart, take another deep mindful breath and slowly release it, taking in that feeling of Springtime.  

·       And when you're ready, return to your day's activities, refreshed and renewed.

 

In the time to come may each day bring a sense of renewal to you and to this beautiful planet we call home.

 

I wish you joy on the path.