Inner Peace

On the side of my blog is a small button that says, "Peace in oneself, peace in the world" a simple saying, but one of sheer "profundity".
Mother Teresa has said of peace, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." Peace isn't just about quiet afternoons, long leisurely mornings or hours of meditation on a hillside alone. Peace is about finding that place in our hearts where we understand that everyone matters. It is about letting go of the junk that bogs us down emotionally. Peace within is about not stepping out of life, but actually its about walking in life with balance and compassion for others. The Dalai Lama says, "The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion". Think about the times in your own life when inner peace is the most distant. Its when you are angry at someone, or suspicious of someones motives or actions. We feel stressed when we are filled with fear or don't want to let go of something, when the time has come to let go of it.
Inner peace, when gained, is not something that can be taken from us. We can choose to give it away to another persons keeping, but real inner peace is ours, our thoughts are ours.
Inner peace can be part of our life in the midst of turmoil, in the center of chaos, in the depths of difficult situations. A lesson learned through time and being aware of my own thoughts and feelings.

A bit of some good news, Mei-Ling will be going home tomorrow from the hospital !
The sky tonight, looking off my front porch