By: Opal Murray
HOLLYWOOD – Can you believe it is now December 2006? We somehow feel like we are living in the Roman era when December was in fact the 10th month and last month of the year and that we did skip a couple months this year.
There are many celebrations this month – the beginning of Advent; a special full moon; Bodhi Day or Day of Enlightenment of Buddha; Celebration of the Immaculate Conception; St. Lucy Day; Hanukah; Celtic celebration of the Birch Tree; Christmas Eve; Christmas Market; Christmas Day; Parang; Kwanzaa; Id-al-Adha and New Year’s Eve. I am sure there are other celebrations not mentioned here, yet they have a common thread in that they bring a certain sense of joy, happiness and peace.
Christmas, especially, is associated with peace. We call the Christ child ‘The Prince of Peace’. We wish for peace among all nations. We seek peace among ourselves but not within ourselves. We constantly battle with our weight, fight with our budget, war with our thoughts and have conflict with our actions.
In this Season of Peace take a moment to become still. Be bold enough to declare peace with and within yourself. Affirm that you will study war no more. Examine the causes of this war, battle, conflict or fight that you have with yourself. Take your time and truly understand why you live in this state of warfare.
In this Season of Peace be truthful to yourselves. As you learn to be truthful you evolve and learn to create a grateful heart. You give thanks for all your gifts and blessings. Your gratitude, in turn, birth love and you begin to love others and yourself unconditionally! This love leads to inner peace, the peace that was described as ‘passing all understanding’. Your inner peace now radiates like the mid-day sun to all around you. By giving this precious gift of peace, others will also send you peace.
Just imagine how this would reverberate in our community and our world. But first we must put down our weapons of shame, guilt, greed, corruption and other tools with which we fool ourselves. Let us express gratitude. Let us show love. Let us bring peace to ourselves and our world. When we wish Peace on Earth we also instinctively must make a footnote in the chambers of our mind to create peace in ourselves.
I wish you a Silent Night, a Holy Night, knowing that all is calm as you restore peace to your entire being.
“The real and lasting victories are those of peace and not war.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:15
