The most recent world events have been weighing heavily on my mind and today, I tried to practice peace in my own home. I did my best to surround my small family with love while the world seems to be seething. Peace is such a powerful vehicle for change and while I’m only one person, practicing peace, in my own small ways, seemed like the thing to do today. No more war.
No more war. This resonates with me in all areas of life. No more war with myself. No more war with my body image. No more war with my critics. No more war. Today, I waive the peace flag and gracefully bow out. This is so hard to do and I’m simply tired of a lifetime of waging war—the war to be justified, stay thin, keep a perfect house, or be the perfect parent. The war to be understood. Most of my battles are internal and war is making me its forever enemy.
Recently, my husband and I were having a mild disagreement and my son brought a ball to us and said, “This is the peace ball. You each need to take it and when the other has it, you listen. This is how you practice peace.” My little guy is so observant and kind, and while we were still so annoyed with one another, we did our best in that moment, for our sweet boy. My husband was a little sarcastic, so we laughed and in that way, the peace ball helped to lighten the burden of our fight. Even if it didn’t take away the issues, we were pleasant enough in the moment. For the moment. No more war.
Later, my son told my aunt about this and together, they made peace rocks. They picked rocks and colored on them, writing peace, and he passed them out. What a sweet and wonderful thing to do—a small gesture showing that he chose peace. What if, instead of waging war, in its many forms, we chose peace? What if we passed the peace rose like they do in my son’s school, or we just said “no more war?” So many conflicts could be avoided by those three words. No. More. War. I’m going to practice this in my everyday approach to life. I’m going to do my best to waive the peace flag. I might fail on some days and in some ways, but today, I choose no more war.
War is being waged everywhere, every day–inside ourselves and in our homes, outside our doors and in our schools, grocery stores, movie theatres, and churches. It’s the war of insecurity and hurt. It’s the war of hate and bigotry. It’s the war of superiority and misunderstanding. I wish it were simple enough to pass the peace rose, peace ball, or peace rock, within ourselves and to others. What could we solve if we left war, in its many forms, off of our tables, out of our hearts and homes? No more war. No more war. No more war. Let us all pray for peace today. Peace for the world. Peace in our own hearts.
