War or Peace....You Get to Choose

I have a perpetual calender that I check out everyday. Some messages resonate with me very strongly. Some don't. Today's quote has stayed with me all day. The message was "We will never know peace while using our mind to attack". (Hugh Prather)

What I love about this statement is that it is so empowering. I love knowing I have control. I may not have control over the words or actions of other people; or over the weather; or the presidential campaign ads; or traffic, but I do have control over my thoughts.

Something that has become very important to me is feeling peaceful. To me peace is not at odds with anything. Peace for me is...acceptance.....unconditional happiness....There is no resistance to what "is" and no attack of what "is".

If I have attack thoughts, I might be blaming or condemning. I would likely be speaking in my mind to some injustice. I'd very likely be angry. Perhaps I would feel justified in my attack, yet justified or not, I would sacrifice having peace as I entertained my attack thoughts.

You may be reading this and thinking "It's good to get angry at injustices, how else could change take place?" My response is that there's another way to create positive change. Rather than attacking that which you are against, peacefully stand for that which you are for. Mother Theresa practiced this way of being and made a huge difference in the world with this practice.

So, I have a long way to go to be living as Mother Theresa did , yet I realize there is much more peace present in my life now, than there was a few years ago. Like everything worth accomplishing, it takes practice. If you're interested in feeling peace more of the time, I suggest you keep it easy....paying attention to one thought at a time. If your thought does not bring peace, think again.