In my yesterday’s blog, I centered on introducing the attributes of God – Power, Peace, Life, Light, Love, Joy and Beauty. I focused on looking for beauty everywhere. I found myself falling into the trap of only seeing beauty in what is called the beautiful: the sunset, the flower, a butterfly fluttering on a nearby tree. Then, purposefully, I pulled my attention to those experiences and feelings that are considered “human” – a homeless woman asking for money, a feeling of loss while thinking of my friend who recently passed. I sat at the table with my husband, eating dinner and the experience overwhelmed me in its humanness and its Divinity at the same time. Beauty was there. I was experiencing the fullness of life in all those incidents. Beauty is most definitely a Divine attribute, as it brings out compassion and awe for life at the same time.

Another attribute of God is Peace. Many of us sing “Let there by peace on earth,” or pray for peace in our world. We long for the violence against each other to end. We plead for many things from our leaders and we take action against those things we consider not peaceful. However, what of the peace within ourselves? How can we create peace in our outer world from feelings of stress and agitation and hopelessness. Similar to trying the create wealth from a consciousness of lack, it is impossible.

Many people have spoken loudly against good thoughts and prayers, casting them aside as a coverup for lack of action. I can see why we feel this way because just muttering words with no intention to change our own lives is not sincerely acting from a place of peace. However, casting prayer and good thoughts away is throwing the baby out with the bath water. We can have both prayers and action. “Faith without works is dead.” There is truth in this statement. Similarly, “Works without Peace is dead.”

Peace is already here and yet the old ways of dealing with each other is also still here. We cannot have both. One will win out and it will take the majority of us living lives of peace to tip the scales. What can we do to live peacefully with our families, our neighbors, and most importantly – ourselves? There is truth to the statement “Peace begins with me.”

I am studying a book by Tara Brach called “Radical Acceptance.” The practices in this book are from the Buddhist tradition and call for a complete loving acceptance of oneself and each other no matter what we are feeling or experiencing. Through this complete loving acceptance, we begin to live more peacefully, transparently, authentically and with the willingness to love ourselves and others just as they are. Please don’t confuse this with accepting violence or violent behavior as okay. It is more about stepping out of judgement and allowing the shift from judgement to compassion to take place. We do better work from this place of compassion. This journey has to begin with oneself. I believe if we can do this, we will become more at peace with the things we cannot change and change the things we can, and understand that all change has to begin within. One person at a time becoming attuned with this multiplies the outer effect in the world.

So, Peace is an inside job and looking for peace is a way of viewing the world. The question is how do you see the world? Do you feel the world is hostile or peaceful? We will find what we focus on. We can still be emissaries for peace and take peaceful action, but we will do a better job at it by shifting our focus and becoming peaceful with ourselves – all of ourselves.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita Andreillo-Feren, Author, Teacher, Artist and Co-Spiritual Director of CSL Kaua`i and the Institute of Magnificence. Find my books on Amazon