Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me

Let there be peace on Earth…the peace that was meant to be

With God as our father, family all are we

Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony

Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now

With each breathe I take, let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally

Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me

Written by Sy Miller and Bill Jackson.

Peace means a time when there is no fighting, no rudeness, no cruelty, no hostility, no fear but only calmness.  The three parts of Living Well are environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment.  Living Well means living in peace on this Earth with Ourselves, All other people and God.

Last week I attended a Christmas program at my grandson’s preschool and they sang what I call, “The Peace Song” as a Christmas carol.  The song was very familiar to me and my daughters as it is the normal service closing song at many of the Churches we have attended across the Country.  I was very surprised to find that it was now considered a seasonal song.

Peace…love…joy…these subjects now seem to have a place and season to be appropriately displayed…like holiday decorations.  What kind of weirdo walks around smiling and being kind everyday of the year?  Perhaps it requires the same unstable mental condition that believes the Golden Rule which says, “treat every human being just the way that you would want to be treated.”

Over the last year in my travels across the country, I have had the wonderful opportunity to attend many different churches and spiritual services at the invitation of my diverse group of friends…Unity, Catholic, Methodist, Jewish, Latter Day Saints, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Religious Science, and others that call themselves non-denominational.  There were differences in rituals and ceremonies…but the one common denominator in all the services…God was in attendance and the presence could be felt just as the presence can be felt in a prison visitation room.

Another thing that stuck me was just as the Dalai Lama said. “Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people’s suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal.“

With God as our father, family all are we

Let us walk with each other in perfect harmony

In each of these services, I heard talk of love.  In some I heard love and peace for all but in several I heard love for those who share the same belief.  Admittedly it is much easier to be around those with whom we agree and share the same bias and prejudices than it is to be around someone who forces us to grow outside our comfort zone.  It is much easier to stay in our comfort zones and do something because someone told us it was the “right” thing to do than research and think for ourselves.  It is also much easier to “talk” than it is to “walk our talk.”

It is much easier to believe in superiority and inferiority than to believe that all people are created equal.  When traveling, I am often warned about associating with “those people” or going into a “bad neighborhood” and told to “be careful.”  My answer to the warning is, “I am always full of care.” In my life experience I have been hurt and abused far more by individuals and groups who claimed to “love” me than I ever have by “those people.”   How can violence and abuse be carried out under the banner of God’s will, love or freedom?

Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me

Peace for me means no fighting, no rudeness, no cruelty, no hostility, no fear but only calmness.  If is going to begin with me that means I must eliminate those things from my life…mind, body and spirit.  It means eliminating fear and living in faith.

Becoming aware of fear takes away it’s power to make us behave in a unloving manner.  Fear is at the foundation of all fighting, rudeness, cruelty, hostility and anger, bigotry, and prejudice. Fear is self-destructive, self-abusive and contagious.  The more it is talked about, the larger it grows.

This journey into peace for me has been going on for many years but intensified in the last two years.  Last spring, the time came for me to face my fear.  I went to a retreat for a weekend to become aware of where I was on the path of life with my purpose.  At the conclusion of the retreat there was a fire-walk.

On a board near my bed is a handwritten card with the affirmation: I walk on fire I can do anything that I chose.  It is one of the first things that I see in the morning and it reminds me that I can chose to live in peace.  Since that first walk across the hot coals, I have walked six more times each with a purpose and intention.

With each breathe I take, let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally

Peace must be lived from the inside out first by making peace with ourselves by thinking kind and peaceful thoughts.  Taking personal responsibility for our own actions and thoughts attracts peace,  love, beauty and wellness.

How can peace, love, beauty or wellness be artificial and seasonal?

Love, Light & Lots of Laughter….Joa

www.joacarter.com