AOM Meditations: 052020

Etretat, Cliff of d'Aval Sunset by Claude Monet

Thanks to a Friend for sending us this gorgeous image

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"If I could ask for any gift in the world for myself, it would be peace. If I could ask for any gift for everyone else in the world, it would be peace.

Peace of mind, peace of heart, peace in relationships, peace in every land. If everyone in the world felt at peace with themselves, how much crime would we have? How much anger and frustration and violence? So many of the bad things in the world, even down to the person who makes fun of you or someone you know, are caused by a lack of peace, and it's hard to imagine what the world would be like if everyone felt peace.

I know that my perspective of the world has changed drastically since I've actually focused on making peace one of my highest priorities in my life. I do my best to find small pockets of peace, and I do my best not to let situations or people take my peace away from me--if someone angers me, he or she has robbed me of the feeling of peacefulness that I strive to maintain in my life.

I can't do it always--I've never expected to, and I never expect to. I'm human, and I'm going to let my peace of mind slip away from time to time. I'm going to worry about things like money and jobs and what's wrong with my car.  I'm going to feel inferior to some people, I'm going to feel that I don't belong in certain situations, I'm going to beat myself up over something stupid that I'm going to say tomorrow or next week or next month. As I get better at maintaining peace, though, I'm not going to let things like that take my peace away. And I'm going to feel better because of it, and I'm going to be more effective at making others feel better, too.

One of the things that I always try to ask myself before I respond in situations in which I'm bound to overreact or react inappropriately is this: Will my reaction contribute to the peace in the world, or will it contribute to the discontent and anger in the world? Sometimes the answer makes me stop and not say what I meant to, and I always find that later, I'm much more at peace for not having said or done that something than I would have been had i said it or done it.

Do you want to give a gift to the world? Contribute to the peace in the world, and help others feel one of the most important feelings they'll ever feel. And don't forget to give it to yourself, too--you deserve it.  Peace be with you."

~tom walsh