We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds. ~ Anton Chekov

Choose:
The single clenched fist lifted and ready,
Or the open hand held out and waiting.
Choose:
For we meet by one or the other. ~ Carl Sandburg

You can't shake hands with a clenched fist. ~ Indira Gandhi

I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace. ~ Helen Keller

First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others. ~ Thomas a Kempis

How do YOU define peace? The absence of conflict? Resolve whatever conflict you are facing, then you can have peace. But when conflict rears its head, peace runs out the door, and it won't return until the conflict is settled. This notion of peace is a good but fragile start.

A stronger definition of peace is one that allows you to rise above your circumstances and remain calm despite the storm raging around you. It is a sense of assurance that no matter what happens, things will eventually get better, and that somewhere, someone trustworthy is in control. This sort of peace is not dependent on circumstances. Rather, it allows you to see beyond your surroundings and fix your eyes on a point in the distance that allows you to hold steady on your course and ride out the storm.



Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace. Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us.

When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. ~ Dalai Lama

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.



We must be the change we wish to see in the world. ~ Mahatma Ghandi

A useful finding from psychological research: An anxious parent cannot calm an anxious baby. (This fits with the Ghandi statement above.)

There never was a good war or a bad peace. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Peace in your daily life:

Here are some suggestions on how you can resolve conflicts peacefully in your daily life:

1. Don’t jump to the assumption that you are being insulted. Most of us are really not out there driving around in our cars looking to pick a fight. If someone cuts you off consider that it might have been an accident. Perhaps you have made at least one mistake while driving yourself. No! Not possible! If you make the assumption that it was a mistake before you assume it was intentional you have taken your first step toward a more peaceful life.

Now apply this approach to the rest of your life:
- a forgotten invitation
- words spoken in the wrong tone of voice
- someone didn’t know the “right” thing to say or do.

2. If you do feel insulted, tell the person how you feel. You might be surprised that what you thought was insulting wasn’t intended that way at all. You may educate the person you are dealing with, helping them to behave more peacefully in the future.

3. If you think that you may have insulted someone else, don’t hesitate to apologize.
As embarrassing as admitting your own mistakes may be, quickly admitting a mistake instantly diffuses a situation. (There is research to back this up!) It can turn an obstacle into a very productive discussion. Even if it has been years of miscommunication, one apology can lead to reconciliation.

A Few Steps Toward World Peace:

1. If you hear of injustice, don’t fret about it, take action.
a. Write about it.
b. Tell others about it.
c. Help if you can.

2. Promote international exchanges.
a. Talk to people from other places.
b. Find opportunities through school programs, Elderhostel, or religious organizations to have people from other countries stay in your home. (Well one night anyway!!)

3. Teach your children love and acceptance of all races, cultures and creeds. This is more than tolerance, this makes the assumption that all humanity is worthwhile and that we must have compassion for others even if we don’t always understand their point of view. Make an effort to understand!

4. Don’t leave it up to others, international kindness begins with your actions here at home. Get to know your neighbors.

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower



Peace is not achieved by controlling nations, but mastering our thoughts. ~ John Harricharan

While conscience is our friend, all is at peace; however once it is offended, farewell to a tranquil mind. ~ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world. ~ Maha Ghosananda

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Namaste. I honour the place in you where the entire universe resides... a place of light, of love, of truth, of peace, of wisdom. I honour the place in you where when you are in that place and I am in that place there is only one of us. ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. ~ Moshe Dayan

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are
always attained by giving them to someone else. ~ Peyton Conway March

The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't have to gain, develop, or attain them. We're like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don't need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are -- as soon as we quit pretending we're small or unholy. ~ Unknown

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace. ~ William E. Gladstone

We tend to think the problem is human beings have this natural tendency to kill, and yet in the middle of a hot war, WWII, a "good war," as it were, the US army was astonished to learn that at least three out of every four riflemen who were trained to kill and commanded to kill, could not bring themselves to pull the trigger when they could see the person they were ordered to kill. And that inner resistance to violence is a well kept secret. ~ William Ury

Most people would be glad to have some peace of mind in their life. They would be happy to forget their troubles, problems and worries, and enjoy a few moments of inner calmness and freedom from obsessing thoughts.

What is peace of mind? It is a state of inner calmness and tranquility, together with a sense of freedom, when thoughts and worries cease, and there is no stress, strain or fear. Such moments are not so rare. They may be experienced while being engaged in some kind of an absorbing or interesting activity, such as while watching an interesting movie or TV program, while being with someone you love, while reading a book or while lying on the sand at the beach.

When you are on vacation, do you experience some sort of mental numbness? At this time the mind becomes calmer, with fewer thoughts and fewer worries. Even while you are deeply asleep, not aware of your thoughts, you are in a state of inner peace.

Such and similar activities take away the mind from its usual thoughts and worries, and bring some temporary inner peace.

The question is, how to bring more peace of mind into our life, and more importantly, how to experience it in times of trouble. It is possible to make it a habit, and enjoy it always and under all circumstances. First, you need to learn to bring more moments of inner peace into your daily life. Later, you will be able to experience these moments in times of trouble or difficulties too, when you most need inner calmness and tranquility.

You can turn peace of mind into a natural habit, but to do so, special training is required, through concentration exercises, meditation and
other means.

Here are a few simple things that can help you:
- Reduce the amount of time you read the newspapers or watch the news on TV.
- Stay away from negative conversations and from negative people.
- Don't hold grudges. Learn to forget and forgive. Nurturing ill feelings and grievances hurts you and causes lack of sleep.
- Don't be jealous of others. Being jealous means that you have low self-esteem and consider yourself inferior to others. This again, causes lack of inner peace.
- Accept what cannot be changed. This saves a lot of time, energy and worries.
- Every day we face numerous inconveniences, irritations and situations that are beyond our control. If we can change them, that's fine, but this is not always possible.
- Learn to be more patient and tolerant with people and events.
- Don't take everything too personally. Some emotional and mental detachment is desirable. Try to view your life and other people with a
little detachment and less involvement. Detachment is not indifference, lack of interest or coldness. It is the ability to think and judge
impartially and logically. Don't worry if again and again you fail to manifest detachment. Just keep trying.
- Let bygones be gone. Forget the past and concentrate on the present moment. There is no need to evoke unpleasant memories and immerse yourself in them.
- Practice some concentration exercises. This will help you to reject unpleasant thoughts and worries that steal away your peace of mind.
- Learn to practice meditation. Even a few minutes a day will make a change in your life.

Inner peace ultimately leads to external peace. By creating peace in our inner world, we bring it into the external world, affecting other people too.

Good Will Toward Men! (And women, children and pets too!)

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of His birth. ~ Luke 1:14

Peace on Earth!

She shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” ~ Matthew 1:21-23

"There is not enough darkness in the world to put out the light of one candle."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8RrTMSbekY&feature=PlayList&p=1BBFDAE4390D7500&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12

A prayer for you right here right now, for your peace ~

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.