Imagine Peace & Love
When I was a young girl, peace signs were in. Has the world really changed much since then? Was it just as crazy then as it is now. We all have wishes for a better world, but how do we get there? Maybe it all has to start with one person at a time, loving themselves, loving our world, and sharing with others? Hmmm, I guess at some level I still have those ideals of peace & love everyone talked about back in the sixties & seventies.
Happy memories sharing love and peace back in 1969. Thats me in the green with my friends from Ziegler, Illinois.
Looks like I’m not the only one who still thinks in terms of peace, love and music. Found this image on my friend Maria’s Facebook page (she’s one of my childhood friends in the pic above)
Yes, there is evil in the world and we can’t just stick our head in the sand ignoring it, but to constantly dwell on the negativity doesn’t make it better and continues a vicious cycle of unrest. What has been happening recently in Ferguson is so sad and an example of how toxicity and evil expanded into a community. If only Martin Luther King or someone of that peaceful nature had been able to go in and speak, could some of the anger and hostility been avoided? Would an approach of kindness, love, and understanding helped to avoid some of the vandalism and harm brought to so many innocent people?
Maybe it’s time for more forgiveness. Letting go of past harms both on a personal level and on a greater level in our world. That doesn’t mean I accept or condone everything that happened, but I can’t change any of it by rehashing or worrying about it, placing blame on others. The only way to move forward is to forgive, remove the toxic emotions, and make peace with ourselves and others. It’s easy to always place blame, but if we don’t remove ourselves from that negativity, how can we find love and happiness? The only person we really have control over is ourself. What if we all started at that core level and loved ourselves first? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to love each other, coming from that happy place? We are only here for a short time in the whole scheme of things – Life’s too short not to be happy.
It may seem a little far fetched, but if we can’t even dream it, how will we ever get there?
So my challenge to myself, family and friends is to enjoy this life. It goes by so quickly. Do you want to spend it in happiness or despair? It’s so awesome to see people challenging each other in social media to reflect on what they are grateful for. It isn’t always easy, and doesn’t change overnight, but I can say from past experience, prayers of thankfulness in some of my darkest times are what got me through. It’s so easy to dwell on the negativity, what others have done to us or what we have done to ourselves. I often find myself thinking I should have worked harder, spent more time with my family, done this or that differently, the list goes on and on. Take a deep breath and remind yourself of all the things you have done right and the blessing you are to those around you. This is a constant challenge for me, but the more I forgive myself and others, the happier and more content I become. Do what makes you happy and you will be a better person for others in your life. Count your blessings and be thankful every day. Laugh often and live life to the fullest. There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy. And when we are happy ourselves, we have something very special to share with those around us.
I did not start out to write a whole “Let’s change the world blog”, not sure how I got off on that tangent. I really just wanted to share with others some encouragement for finding a happy place in their own lives. To do our best to live a life of peace and contentment amid the chaos. To remove ourselves from the drama and petty issues that really don’t matter, but can weigh so heavily on our happiness. When you turn your thoughts to the simple joys and little things in life that make you happy, you start to see the beauty all around you and realize how amazing your life really is, even in the midst of chaos and hardships.
I just received a wonderful book The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom as a gift from my friend Jackie. I read it in one day and it obviously hit home in so many areas as you can see from all the Post-it tabs.
There was so much in the book that resonated with me – I can’t recommend it enough! It confirmed so many things for me about why I sometimes feel the way I do. That it’s okay (actually good) to be happy with your life. Why do we sometimes feel guilty for this? Thank you so much to my wonderful friend Jackie Sprague for the gift of this book and the beautiful bookmark she made. If you are in search of a Holistic Health Coach and/or an amazing massage in the St. Louis area contact Jackie.
What a beautiful gift of loving kindness – thank you Jackie!
Why is it that so often when we consider taking time to care for ourselves we feel guilty or selfish? The truth is if we are not happy with ourselves, we cannot be there for others. When we trust and love ourselves, everything else falls into place. When we honor and love our own body by caring for it, we honor God. By nurturing ourselves mentally & physically we are able to shine a positive light in the presence of others. By getting past worrying what others think of us, and being true to ourselves, we can share love, peace and understanding with everyone in our lives.
Of course things are never going to be perfect in our personal lives or the world, but being negative, sad, angry or emotionally drained on a personal level will never change that. The thing is no matter how good or bad your life is, you can choose suffering or happiness. Is the glass half empty or half full? What do you have to be grateful for? Can you put your focus there instead of on the bad? Can you let go of the past, learn from it, and move on to enjoy what good you have right now, in the present?
As tough as it may seem, we really do have a choice to enjoy our lives right now, in this present moment. Take a walk in nature, sit in a quiet place and meditate or just enjoy the stillness, take a yoga class, listen to beautiful music, read, draw, write, play the piano, sing, dance, whatever it is that puts in your in the moment of contentment and happiness.
I am so grateful for the great teachers in my life. Those who give love as well as those who have not been so kind and loving. I by no means have it all figured out, but have learned from all these encounters and will continue to learn because we all continue to grow no matter what age. At this point I’ve made a conscious decision to learn from the negative, but not dwell on it or project it into my life. Even in little aspects such as Facebook I choose to share the positive and happy. It’s not because I’m trying to brag or say my life is perfect, it’s just a choice to think about and share all the good instead of accentuating and dwelling on the bad.
The amazing thing is once I got to a happy place with myself I started noticing how much beauty there was in my life. I am grateful every day for my wonderful family and friends – what a blessing! I also noticed the more I shared smiles, love and acceptance the more it came back to me. And then, even more incredible, I met someone who shared my values, morals, hopes, and dreams. Bill & I enjoy doing the same things, love each others company, and laugh every day.
We are so happy together, and have such wonderful family and friends. We truly feel blessed. What we have come to realize is these feelings of happiness can often be affected by outside influences. Whether it’s people in our immediate environment or the toxicity of the news. For that reason we have chosen to set some boundaries, occasionally take a news holiday, surround ourselves with positive, loving people and keep the negativity from creeping into our lives. We can’t always shut out but the world, but it is OK to have a safe place; a Zen Zone, your own corner of the world where you have peace and contentment, leaving negativity outside the door. A place where we are happy, free to love and be ourselves.
We do watch the news and occasional movies that cause agitation, but try to be aware when this is happening so that we shut it down before it infiltrates too much. We are empathetic with others who may be suffering, but choose to remove ourselves from their gossip, drama, or harsh words. Having unconditional love and forgiveness does not necessarily mean you condone or need to be contaminated by the emotional poison and turmoil others may cause. We decided to draw the line between compassion and self preservation/self caring.
At my dad’s funeral a couple of years ago many people shared stories about my dad and commented that he was such a beautiful soul; always positive and pleasant to be around. He had such a gentle spirit. The thing is my dad suffered from Parkinson’s for over 35 years, and I never heard him complain, not once – what an inspiration!
I want to find my own inner light and share the light from my soul with others. It does seem so true that you attract what you put out there. While walking one day this week we had a conversation with a nice couple from out of town. I had just been thinking about what to say when writing this blog and noticed the man’s shirt said “Choose Love”. Funny how things show up just at the right moment.
