Reason 91: Because if we say it enough we might start acting it

When I was a child attending St. Peter's Catholic Church, my favorite part of the Mass was The Peace.  It made me really really happy to stand up and turn to people I knew or didn't know, shake their hands, and say "Peace be with you," or to respond "and also with you."  I visited friends' churches but none of them included The Peace.  "What was that about?" I'd wonder, feeling incomplete.

I now attend St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church and my favorite part of the service is The Peace.  Now we say "God's Peace," or simply "Peace."  If my husband is with the choir, we wave peace signs at each other.  Every Sunday, all of us stop and say Peace.

A long time ago I read a letter in which the writer said, "we say 'Peace be with you' in the Mass, then run over each other in the parking lot trying to get home.  What's the point?" 

Hmmm... good question.  I think the point is that if we keep saying it, we will begin to be it.  Eventually we'll stop running over each other in the parking lot.  Maybe.

So, once more, with feeling:

PEACE BE WITH YOU!

And also with you.

Reason #92 to blog for peace:

"The principle of an eye for an eye will some day make the whole world blind."



Ghandi

Reasons 97 - 93 to blog for peace

#97:  There is so much going on in our lives, sometimes we forget to pray for peace.  Maybe this will help.

#96:  What is peace?  My peace, your peace?  A piece of your country, a piece of his?  What do we mean by this?  Why do people keep saying it's impossible.  Let's talk about it.

#95:  Talking about things is a step on the road to fixing things.  (This is NOT the same as #96.)

#94:  I choose butter.  (Remember?  "Guns or Butter.")

#93:  Peace is a learned not inherited.

I celebrated my 51st birthday on Saturday.  I celebrated with friends on Friday and spent Saturday reading and sleeping, which is my idea of a peaceful, perfect day.  It was made more perfect by the presence of two of my grandchildren, Gabe (almost 4) and Brendon (almost 3).  Brendon decided to cover me with French chocolate while I napped, which is a little frightening, but interesting.  Gabe and Brendon both had me and others read them books.  And Gabe talked a whole lot.

Gabe is a very intense and logical little man.  He wants to understand things and people.  He needs to see why things are as they are.  He is a very empathetic child.

I don't know why it would surprise me.  My three sons are all empathetic and caring and have been since they were very young.  Gabe reminds me a lot of his father.  The intensity and ease with which Gabe and Robert embrace empathy has to do with their souls, their personalities, their THEM. 

However, it was my husband and me, along with other friends and family members (my mother in particular), who nurtured and valued those traits.  For children who are not as naturally empathetic, empathy can be taught and nurtured as well.

Empathy, I believe, is the beginning of peace.  And no, it isn't necessarily natural. 

Yes, there have been wars and oppression always and everywhere, from battle grounds to board rooms to school yards.  And yes, it is hard to overcome human nature, which often needs groups of "us" and "them" in order to feel safe and secure.  Our separation from god, our excessive knowledge of the differences among us, and our sparse knowledge of the sameness; all this makes it hard to be at peace. 

And so, we must learn peace.  We must teach peace.  We must act in ways that are not "natural."  And no one said it would be easy. 

98th reason that I blog for peace: Because I can

Only two or three days in and I miss a day.  Oh well.  I'm not going to sweat it.  Because blogging for peace, like searching for peace is a journey.  It's not really how well you do it, it's that you do it.

Like many people, I feel overwhelmed when I look at the world, whether in my neighborhood or in my universe or in my soul.  How in the world can we have peace?  What can I do?

Right now, I can't remove landmines from playgrounds.  I can't feed more than a few of the starving children in the world.  I can't teach more than a couple of people that strength comes from diversity.  Right now, I can't sink into a meditative state to find my own peace.  I can't usually withhold judgement when the issue is personality or taste and not TRUTH.  I can't always hold my tongue when faced with irritating people.
Right now, all I know is that I am trying.  I am on my journey through peace.

And what I can do is blog.  I BLOG FOR PEACE BECAUSE I CAN.