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“You will not be judged on what people do to you, but how you react.”–Anonymous
On my bad days, I react to events like water poured on boiling oil, burning everyone in sight, even those trying to help. You could say I have an itchy trigger finger, ready to attack anything that provokes me with my semi-automatic tongue.
One of the reasons I practice meditation every day is to become aware of exactly when my “fire” ignites. If I can catch a negative reaction when it is just one thought, I can extinguish it before my anger and frustration create a three alarm catastrophe. Like a single matchstick, it is easy to blow out a negative thought with a smile or a breath of gratitude. This practice has quadrupled the number of happy moments I experience daily and changed the course of my life.
But after reading the posts by Mirth and Motivation and Professions for PEACE in response to the Newtown shooting, I realized that simply responding to external events is not good enough.
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“Peace is not something you wish for, it something you make, something you do, something you are, something you give away.”–Robert Fulghum
We need to become actors rather than reactors. We need to child-proof our society, so our children can play and grow without fear of being injured or killed. We need to make, do, become, and give peace right now.
I am starting a new daily practice for 2013 to not just become aware of how I react to external events, but, more importantly, to condition my mind, body, and spirit to create the peace that the world so desperately needs.
I haven’t worked out all the details, and I invite you to offer any suggestions. So far this is what I have come up with:
- Devote part of my meditation practice specifically to Peace
- Actively raise my sons to be peaceful and tolerant citizens who respect all forms of life
- Extend a hand, a smile, or lovingkindness specifically to people who seem unhappy, anguished, or upset
- Make my home as peaceful as possible at all times
- Stop judging, and just love
- Focus on serving others rather than catering to my own ego
- Write words that promote peace and understanding
- Empathize with everyone
- Have no enemies
I strongly urge you to join me in 2013. In what ways can we actively promote peace? What can I add to my list of daily practices? What are other strategies to create the peace our society needs?
Thank you for reading, sharing, and/or smiling.
Related articles
- Reflections: Heartaches to Heal… (Mirth and Motivation)
- Raising Healthy Minds (professionsforpeace.com)
- Cancer as a Guru: 5 Life Lessons from a Remarkable Guest (everydaygurus.com)
- Peace (nadyafauzia.wordpress.com)
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