How can you be or vote for something that you haven’t experienced? Call for a ceasefire in your internal dialogue and take a peek at peace.
“Let There Be Peace on Earth” is one of my favorite songs. It was written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller for the International Children’s Choir in Long Beach, California in 1955. They sang it again in 2002 next to the White House in Washington, DC. “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
This feels like the perfect intention for the holidays, which Jack Kornfield calls the holydays. I gently sing the song in my mind whenever I catch myself thinking about things that are upsetting, which happens a lot these days. To paraphrase Anne Lamott, “My mind is like a bad neighborhood. I try not to go there alone.” A community practice of generous listening after reflecting on a poem is a wonderful way to celebrate the darkest time of year and the promise of the winter solstice.
Leonard Cohen’s famous song, “Anthem,” comes to mind. “There is a crack in everything. That is how the light gets in.” May our hearts be broken open to let the light of love and peace in. This is an invitation for Grace.
Grace is a gift given and received. There are many ways to hold space for Grace. Place your hand over your heart. Grace is there. Close your eyes. Grace is there. Take a deep breath. Grace is there. Listen to a friend in need. Grace is there.
Poets often describe the unnamable, so it’s not surprising that Grace has a habit of showing up in poetry. Here is one of my favorites:
With the Stars All Around
I wish you the peace of sleep,
your breath a canoe
that carries you
toward the next moment
without any need
for you to touch the oars.
How easily you arrive.
Oh, to trust the world like that—
trust you will be carried,
not just in sleep,
but in waking dreams,
trust no matter how high the waves,
the skiff of grace
has a seat for you.
And oh, to let go of the oars—
there is no steering
toward what comes next.
~ Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, All The Honey: Poems
Here is my poetic reflection on peace for this time of great unknowing. May it sustain you through the holydays and illumine possibilities for peace in the New Year.
A Peek at Peace
Peace is a puzzle waiting for
the pieces to find their places.
Peace is powerful when
practiced from the inside out.
Listen to your own heart,
then to the heart of another.
When peace evades understanding,
listening is a revolution of tenderness.
Your puzzle piece is a peek at peace
Please add it to the peace puzzle.