Peace

This year I have yearned for peace and have had a hard time finding it. Peace in the world. Peace in my home. Peace in my heart and mind. It seemed like things were settling down when everything would change. There were so many changes this year, and change doesn’t bring me peace. I had to step back and find an alternative way to look at life in order to find the peace my heart and mind so desperately needed.

There was a time I believed finding, feeling, and keeping peace meant staying quiet. This year I have realized that only starts a war within myself. In order to feel peace in my heart and mind, I have to stand up for the things and people I care about. It’s advocating for those who can’t advocate for themselves. It’s being a voice for the voiceless. It is being vocal about the things I find important and am passionate about. For me, feeling peace is loving someone despite their faults. Loving them despite their political or religious beliefs. It is understanding why someone believes what they do. It is standing up for what I believe in in the face of controversy. It is being vocal and not shrinking to make others comfortable. Peace is trying to understand and not judging. This year I have learned to stand firm in my truth and to understand the truth of others and knowing that by doing so I will feel peace.

I'm grateful for the lessons learned in 2020. The Insight gained and growth. The connection with family as schedules changed and work from home began. I am grateful for the deeper friendships made and the connection with new friends. I am grateful for the trials and blessings. I am looking forward to the lessons of 2021 and a continuation

of peace.

“Our world seems to be anything but peaceful. In this stark reality, there is a great need for peacemakers. There are two ways to interpret the concept of ‘making peace.’ The first is to avoid conflict; to acquiesce... peace is maintained by keeping quiet, by biting one’s tongue, by falling in line. By going gently into that good night. This is not the kind of peace I want to make.” - Eva Witesman