Good morning, everyone ~

REMINDER:

There will be no Group session today,

due to weather conditions and

the number of people who are sick,

out of town, or otherwise unable to attend.

Even though each of us has had a better morning, we’ve probably also had worse, eh? It’s cold and will get colder before it gets warmer. Most of us are dealing with physical challenges and at this age-and-stage of Life, most of us have dealt with more serious ones. The world is a dangerous, uncertain place; yet, there have been more extreme situations and more widespread/varied dangers. We can still count our blessings, eh?

“The struggle for peace is still a struggle,” writes the author Kim Stanley Robinson. We can paraphrase that: The struggle for peace of mind, good health, pain management is still a struggle.

We can pray, visit doctors, take prescriptions and have multiple procedures; yet, we still struggle. Most of the time, we can agree that the struggle is worth it. Some of the time, that agreement is easily reached. Other times, not so much.

All of that is quite normal. It’s part of the human condition. It’s part of Life. Every living thing experiences struggle.

At this time of year, we sing carols, attend celebrations, watch our favorite holiday movies and indulge in traditions old and new. Peace on Earth is prayed and sung; and then we go back to wars large and small, both in the outer world and inside our own selves.

Perhaps peace is like other matters — a thing that begins within and works in an outward flow. After all, if I can’t be at peace within my own self, I’ll not be able to be at peace with anyone else, eh? And so, the eternal struggle remains a struggle. I continue to continually center myself within the ebb-n-flow of Life’s struggle to thrive amidst the many manmade wars large-n-small. I believe it is a worthy struggle.

Ask any artist if their investment of time into their best work was worth it, and they’ll give you a glowing smile of satisfaction as an answer.

As the Christmas season draws to its culmination, may each of us balance out our private struggles with a glowing smile of satisfaction each time we achieve a sense of inner peace. Like love, we cannot afford to wait for peace to find us — we must create it; and thus, peace on Earth just might grow from inside out. Be the Love. Be the Peace.

Gentle hugs/much love,

Marian