Peace Day: What Will YOU Do To Promote Peace?
Peace is every step
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
Did you know that Monday, September 21st is International Peace Day? I didn't, I until I looked up and saw it printed on my wall calendar today. Have I been that tuned out for the past 10 years? Or have we been so preoccupied with war, the very idea of peace seems quaint and foreign?
In 1999, the first fixed International Day of Peace was initiated out of the vision of former actor and filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, who after traveling the world and meeting with heads of state, took his idea to the U.N. General Assembly and succeeded in drafting a declaration naming September 21st as a day devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace. Every year since then, the Peace Bell, cast from coins donated by children from every continent, has been rung on this day.
Imagine a 24 hour period all over the world when everyone lays down their weapons (physical and psychic) and dedicates their consciousness and actions to nonviolence. Why would anyone want to resume war (internal and external) after bathing in peace for a day?
Who knows? Maybe we could really go all out and extend ourselves for 48 hrs. Imagine the difference we could make.
What will you do to bring peace to your world? Participate below.
What if Republicans and Democrats called a truce in the "war" over healthcare and decided to seek resolutions instead of bandying about false accusations and fear tactics? What if these "enemies" gave up warring and looked for common ground instead? Does anyone actually think common ground does not exist between two polarities? Surely it does, but there must be an intention and a desire to look for it. Are we not up to this task?
What is required to lay down one's "weapons" of war, be they machine guns or a sharp tongue? What is required to let go of the need to annihilate and destroy the "other"?
What is the cost to the psyche and the soul to live in a state of perpetual war? There are millions of children growing up all over the world who've known nothing else. What can we expect from them as adults?
Peace is more than just the absence of war. Yes, it is the cessation of violence, but it's also the creation of conditions aligned with the principles that foster life. It requires intention coupled with action.
There is something you can do to bring peace to the world, right where you are. It doesn't have to be big and flashy. The scale of your action is not important. Your willingness to act is everything.
If you tell yourself you're just one person and can't make a difference, then surely you can't. But what if you're the one who's choice to extend a peaceful, loving gesture to another started a chain of events that created a miracle? Who's to say you're not? You are if you say so. Say so.
Jeremy Gilley describes his commitment and passion for bringing about this ideal in the following video. I dare you to watch this and not be inspired.........
5 ways to make peace in your world:
1) Extend yourself to someone who's been on your "enemies" list. Apologize.
I know, you've probably told yourself it's their fault and why should you be the one to bend over backwards? Be the bigger person and do it anyway. Do it from a generous heart and see what happens. Let me know how that goes. I've done this exercise with 100's of people and many report miracles happened. It's amazing what is possible when you give up the need to be right.
2) Create your own personal commitment statement to be a stand for peace.
Invite a group of people to join you. Gather together and share your commitments. Write them down, attach your statements to a helium filled balloon and release it to the world. If you really want to have some fun with this, put your email address on the papers and see what comes back.
3) Peace can begin right now on the very next breath.
Breathe in and say "Peace". Breathe out- "Peace". BE a peace mantra for 24 hrs. What could happen in the world if we were all silently chanting "Peace" on each breath? Is it worth a try? What'll it cost you?
4) Give a "love/peace offering" to a stranger.
Pick a small possession that you value and give it away to someone you've never met until this moment. Be a role model for what generosity looks and feels like. What if we didn't fear "losing" and saw that we could only gain by sharing what we love? Be prepared to receive more than you give.
5) Make peace with yourself.
Write down all your judgments and negative opinions about yourself on a piece of paper. Write down all the struggles, conflicts and worries, everything you're ready to be done with. Then set a match to the paper (in a safe place, of course) and watch those tired, old stories go up in flames. What's the purpose of all that self recrimination anyway? Loving yourself is no one's responsibility but your own. If you can't love you, why should you expect anyone else to?
Peace is an inside job.
It starts with your intention to align with the energy of peace, then to express and manifest that energy in tangible form. In his book, Power Vs. Force, David Hawkins calibrates the vibrations of every emotion. Peace calibrates at the highest level, right along with Love. When you are in the vibration of peace, your energy is aligned with the purest form of consciousness in the universe. If the very thought of peace can align you with that vibration, why think of anyplace else?
What will you do to create peace in your world? Who needs an apology from you? Who needs to know they're loved and you're the one to tell them? Who needs an acknowledgment for their silent contributions?
These people are right there in front of you. It's the checker at the grocery store, the waitress who serves you lunch, the cab driver, the person seated next to you on the train, or the homeless person who approaches you on the street. It's your husband or wife, boss or employee, or maybe even a former spouse or lover.
How will you help bring peace to the world next Monday? You might even get an early start and begin now. Let's not keep this a secret. Spread the word.
I'd love to receive your input on this subject. Please drop by the comment section and share how you plan to bring peace to your world. Maybe you can spark an idea for others. That would be a good way to contribute! And while you're in the neighborhood, why not Become A Fan, then Buzz and Digg this article. That way more people will get to read it and Peace Day will become less of a secret. Thanks for doing your part.
Peace is every step. Happy Peace Day!
I love personal contact with readers. You can do that on my web site, Rx For The Soul or send me a friend request on Facebook. Please be sure to let me know you're a reader.
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Judith,
As usual you touch a nerve. I started getting a few angry replies in emails and on FB about my Health Care Reform: The New Promised Land post a week ago and mostly they're exactly the negative, blaming and bashing type that my article was about. I want to reply and rebut 'but' it seems I'm only adding fuel to a fire and I want to 'go to war' with the lies and hate, the half truths and the non-truths that people use to mis-direct others. I can't do this, though, with anger, and I appreciate your words today.
In and odd turn of events, today is a fast day for orthodox Jews, the Fast of Gedalia, and it is about a man who was killed by one of his own for preaching tolerance and patience. I will consider peace on a deeper level during my fast and continue to keep peace in front of me, including going to the site as mentioned above.
Thank you,
James.
ironically, i'll probably doing field exercises and combat maneuvers.....
Dear SemperFidelisUSMC,
Our love and prayers go out to you and the rest of our troops this day and always. May you be a messenger of peace, even as you carry out your mission.
Blessings,
Judith
thank you very much judith :)
I intend to spend September 21 with my animals. If I can volunteer at the local animal shelter where I often go to help the animals, I will do that with the intention of promoting peace. After all, we are not the only ones who suffer from violence and war. Dogfighting and cock-fighting, animal abuse and other forms of neglect and cruelty draw us away from peacefully coexisting with other people, with animals and with nature. I will also pray, for I have learned the true power of prayerful intent!
Yes, indeed! Every sentient being deserves love and respect, including the animals. Thank you for taking that on as your offering.
Bless you,
Judith
Judith, great blog as always! We can all take daily actions towards peace and these five ways to make peace in the world are a great beginning to the journey toward individual and world peace.
Since none of us are perfect, negative feelings get triggered by different events in our lives but committing to confronting them head on and not allowing them to run our lives, gives us more space inside for peace. Unexplored feelings always rear their heads and can cause us to blurt out things or react in ways that do not come from our highest good or the highest good of others.
To embody peace and bring it forth in the world we start by owning all of who we are.
I hope all is going well for you. It’s always a pleasure to see your name and read your blog.
Dr. Jennifer Howard
http://www.DrJenniferHoward.com
Hi Dr. Jennifer,
It's so good to see you here. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about the need to be at peace with ourselves. There is so much work to be done to know and embrace all of who we are.
You are a gentle warrior on this path. Thank you and bless you for your work.
Love,
Judith
"The most vital need of every people on earth is permanent peace, and to get permanent peace we must create and sustain an international spirit or world-patriotism which will come as the result of recognition that what affects one nation affects all, that as far as one ascends towards knowledge and well-being, so far all others will follow; that as deep as one may fall away from its ideals and into national selfishness, to that depth, or lower, in the nature of things the others will be dragged down too....War and preparation for war and thought towards war-these are a confession of weakness. To maintain peace is a proof and manifestation of strength... "Katherine Tingley
Many will disagree, but it needs to be said. Peace will never come without enlightenment. People must realize that religion and it's dualism separate us from each other. It creates huge populations that consider their God better than other Gods. Their teachings condone killing others who don't believe the same way.
We must realize we are all the same. Embrace Oneness and find peace, and happiness.
I love you as I love myself and my family,
Conk
So well said, Conk. You express a truth the people of the world need to realize. We are all one people. When we kill one another, we're killing off pieces of ourselves. War would be obsolete if we understood and embraced this.
Keep speaking your truth. You are a warrior for peace.
Blessings,
Judith
Peace starts with how you treat your neighbor and the people you do things with everyday.
Amen! Peace begins within and radiates out to everything we do, every step we take, every thought we think.
Let's remember this today and always.
Thank you so much BlackYowe, for stopping by.
Peace to you,
Judith
I will promote peace every day untl I die with the help of the Prince of Peace.
A poison Tree
I was angry with my friend
I told my wrath, my wrath did end;
I was angry with my foe,
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.
By William Blake 1800s.
When I hold the consciousness of anger in my heart, I become my own foe. The one who dies is me.
Thich Nhat Hahn reminds us that "Peace is every step". One step at a time.
Thanks Norge,
Judith
A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend,
I told my wrath, my wrath
Buy a round of drinks at the American Legion?
Or try this on peace day. Go to odysseynetworks.org and pledge to pray for peace for one minute at noon on September 21. People worldwide have signed this pledge. A minute can make all the difference if it's well spent.
Dear Mary,
Thanks so much for your comment and for the web site suggestion. I just pledged and encourage everyone to go to this web site and sign up. It's one minute for peace on Sept. 21 at noon.
Let's see what we can cause! Are you willing???????
Gratefully,
Judith
Perhaps Sting will be sending one too.....
Yeah, yeah......
show peace to animals and stop eating them.
I will fight for universal healthcare for every American!
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