"Achieving Peace"

From the Peace and Social Concerns Meeting

December 2010

Peace is very difficult to achieve if you are too busy, or if you feel like you are too busy.    Frequently, we are able to accomplish just as much (or more) in a day if we do so in a slow, peaceful way as if we had been in a busy, harried state of mind.  As we approach the holidays, frequently the busiest time of the year, we offer these reminders:

Most of us have seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and are familiar with the saying every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.   As an alternative, we offer that each time your telephone rings, let it remind you to breathe, re-center yourself and be peaceful during this season.

Or perhaps the chaos of the holidays is too much for you.  Let it work for you.  Each time you hear a carol or see a decoration, let it offer the reminder of slowing down and being peaceful. 

Finally, each time you find a penny on the ground, take a moment as you stoop to pick it up, and remind yourself that “In God We Trust”.

We cannot effectively work for peace in the world until we have it within ourselves.  Even as Quakers, it is important to remember that we must first wear our own peace “oxygen mask” before we can help others to achieve peace.   Sometimes saying “no” is an important tool to our peaceful existence. 

If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world. 

Thomas Merton