I was asked about the title of my blog, “Thoughts on Peace”. It is true, at first glance, that my blog writings don’t seem to have anything to do with peace. When I started the blog, I had just come home from a trip to Costa Rica which for me was a personal journey about peace. My early blogs record my thoughts while on that trip. I reflected on the amazing courage of this small country to abolish its army and about my experience of visiting the United Nations Peace University in Colon.
There I wrapped my arm across the bronze shoulders of my hero, Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked across the country several times for peace in the 50’s and 60’s. Her message was that if you want peace in the world, you have to start by seeking peace within. This has become a deep conviction of mine.
Having been influenced by Peace, I have come to believe that peace-making is an activity that touches every nick and cranny of my life. So my path is to seek peace in all my relations even the seemingly inconsequential ones. I am compelled to pay attention to the words I choose so they do not promote violence of any kind. I enter discussions, even with those of opposing opinions, with an attitude of respect. I try to forgive immediately if I feel hurt in some way. I don’t seek retaliation. I work on getting rid of judgments of others. In other words, in seeking peace, I work on myself first and formost.
The way I handle encounters, the way I choose my words, the way I set my priorities…these are all about making peace in the world. And the way I present my ideas, too. I think humor is vital. Sometimes, making peace is just a matter of lightening things up.
I don’t know if this makes sense to anyone. What I am doing might be compared to someone who writes a book about love, then talks about fixing his motorcycle (which someone did, by the way). Nevertheless, the person who made the observation has a point. I may change the theme if I think something else would work better.