Sunday, December 09, 2012

peace train

so today is about peace.  I think, like joy, this word is more.  bigger.  deeper.  more intense than what we've let it become.

it's the absence of war.  but more.
it's the lack of worry.  but more.
it's contentment.  but more.
no chaos.  no discord.  no disagreements.  no raised voices.
peace.

well that all sounds lovely, but kinda dull.  so ironically, or maybe intentionally - depending on how you see the world, I heard a bunch of things about peace today.

and this is what I pieced together:

l.gen romeo dallaire asked once:  are all humans human or are some humans more human than others?  this was a man who saw war in a way that far too many in our world have encountered - the genocide in rwanda.  he is a man who has seen the horrors of war and knows the key to peace.  living as though no one is better than or less than us.  equal because we have the same creator.  the same blood flowing through our veins.  family.  yet daily we treat people as though we deserve to be honoured and they deserve to be brushed off.  no compassion, only ego.

peace exists when we stop seeking our own ego.  our own power.  when we seek gratitude and joy, we find peace.  and I believe when we stop the chaos in our own lives, we can begin to stop the chaos around us.  sounds easy, eh?  ha!

stoping the chaos is so much more than slowing down or cutting down on the business.  it's a state of the heart.  it's slowing down to make a difference in the life of someone else.  it's choosing someone else over the wants of your own ego.  it's putting away the need to be right...'cause who cares if you are that one time.

had a little "joy to the world" thrown my way this afternoon...what can I say?  I get around!  read that first line a couple of times.  his rule is not shrouded in power and ego, but with truth and grace.
he rules the earth with truth and grace
and makes the nations prove
the glory of his righteousness
and wonders of his love and wonders of his love
and wonders, wonders of his love
we are called to be peacemakers.  to carry the torch of peace.  to start a revolution of peace.  and it starts with me.  this hits so close to home so tonight I am writing this for myself.  to record a lesson that I need to revisit.  especially the part about keeping my mouth shut.  {yeah, don't act all shocked.  we all know it's true.}  okay, so it's not about keeping my mouth shut, but about putting away the need to be right.  in my world, they're the same thing.  and perhaps I need to start ruling my little world with truth and grace.  or with just less ego.

I've posted this quote before, but it bears repeating:
Go now to make a difference in this perilous and broken world.May you all hold each human life in the same regard as your own.May you bring serenity and peace to the lives of others.May God's Loving Spirit go with you and guide you this day and always.Amen. - Rev. Brian Yealland {2003}
peace.

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