There are even some young children who would be quick to answer that their wish for Christmas would be for peace. Face it. I do not believe there would be any one, or at least very few, person (people) who would not want peace for the world. However I want to pause for a few minutes. I want to look at what peace really means. Of course the first thing that comes to mind is war - actual battles. But what about those people who live in our cities, in our neighbourhoods where there is abuse. And of course there is the difficulty of discrimination. What about the person who is virtually homeless? Perhaps most importantly we need to look at peace within ourselves.
I happen to know of a fellow who has been more or less homeless for a few years. About six weeks ago another friend and I helped
Carl move into an older, kind of run-down motel suite after assisting him with social workers and other helping folk. This man - I feel he is at peace - to some extent or another. He has no refrigerator. He gets food from the food bank. He has basically one small room and a bathroom. When we have visited sometimes the thermostat was not working and one of the lights was not working as it should. Yesterday he called to chat. He said, by the wayside, that the can opener we had purchased for him had broken. Did we have a spare one?
Today we are taking over a Christmas gift of a new, better, can opener, a gift of $10 so he might buy a phone card to talk a time or two with his sister that lives in another part of the country. He had requested a time back two of my art cards to send to the same sister who is in perhaps almost similiar if not even more difficult circumstances than himself. He had hoped to pay for them.
About peace within my own self, I believe I do not frequently feel that peace of mind. My body often is tense. I sometimes need to be reminded to breathe. I feel often that I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. How can I help others to find peace if I cannot find that place within my own soul? What about you?
I have been working to find some place of peace within my own heart, my own spirit. I am looking with joy to the new year for more found time, more "present" time to do art. Creating brings me to some much needed place of peace.
And so what about peace? I, as you, dream, wish for that place, that time of world peace. Perhaps we need to put more thought into that wish. Perhaps we need to think about it more throughout the year. Perhaps we need to find that place of comfort {everlasting peace?} within ourselves, before we can move ahead with that desire for our neighbour, our friend, our enemy, our children of the world.
Peace be with you dear friend. And as always angels.
