As Gandhi is very very often quoted as saying, "be the change you want to see in the world."
In order to have peace in the world, we need peace within ourselves. Some days, like those in the past month, that is very hard for me. It is hard to be a calming, loving, merciful being when I see injustice, arrogance (other than my own), and plain old fashioned stupidity. I find myself thinking, "If I'da killed him when I met him, I'd be out by now." And this really isn't productive.
Today, I am going to write ten reasons I blog for peace that have to do with strengthening myself. "Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me."
84:
I blog for peace so that I can strengthen my tolerance of differences, because peace cannot exist without tolerance and mercy. An efficient dictatorship may look peaceful --- low crime, trains running on time --- but that isn't peace. I'm not saying that I tolerate everything, but I would like to recognize and avoid the canonization of my culture. Cultural norms are not necessarily holy.
83:
I blog for peace so that I can find the sameness in humanity. We have sought the safety of our tribes since time began. We need "us" and "them" to help us define ourselves. That's way film makers have the Earth attacked by aliens in order to unite the Earth. But there is always a "them." A "not us." I want to define myself without seeking a "not me."
82:
I blog for peace so that I can find the courage to stand up in the face of wrong, even if it's uncomfortable. I'm not likely to be in a life-threatening situation, but I'd like to be brave enough stand up even in the face of death.
81:
I blog for peace so that I can develop the wisdom to know when to stand and when to be still.
80:
I blog for peace because I know that peace is strength, violence is weakness. Remember the song, "Coward of the county?" OK, he ends up seeking revenge and killing the guy, but his father's words are the important part. It takes a Man to ignore taunting in order to do the right thing. Or a Woman. Not a saint. I could go on all day about how the Romans militarized Christianity, but I won't. You're welcome.
79:
I blog for peace to help me be peaceful. I want to be the person who calms the waters, not the one who stirs up drama. This is a very personal thing, but a key to the peace within me. I am attracted (or attract) people who live life as one crisis after another, and everyone demands my immediate attention. Calm down people! The world is not ending. And if it is, I'm sure as hell not spending any more time on this stuff.
78:
I blog for peace because:
"Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes man
inhuman." Marian Anderson.
I blog for peace because I am angry and frustrated and fearful. And those things don't help my blood pressure, my family, or the world in which we live
77:
I blog for peace because I can only be the best person I can be right now.
76:
I blog for peace because I am a better person than I was before.
75:
I blog for peace because I want to be a better person tomorrow.
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6 comments:
Lovely list. I've been doing my countdown daily, but I cheated and wrote madly over a few quiet days so they're mostly all ready saved and scheduled. On my Peace Thimbles blog. :-)
PS..
As for killing anyone. I like this prayer:
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill because they p'ed me off.
Peace IS strength.
I so agree.
Power can be deceptive. It's not always the loudest noise or the biggest bang.
Michelle...that cracked me up.
I've been using Michelle's prayer on a weekly if not daily basis. :)
Kathy, that definitely improved my peaceful mood! LOL
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