#Peace Matters - Part 3

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

#Peace Matters and YOU

I've added pictures of what, to me are peaceful scenes at the Oregon Coast, the the text of my January 2016 post. I also added two additional pictures (my drum and a spruce cone) that can serve as a focus point in meditating. Even if you do not meditate, spending a few minutes (or more) looking at a peaceful, calm, quiet scene or object can relieve stress.

How do you, a single individual, impact the violence in the world?

I won’t tell you it’s easy, but it is simple.

Live a life of peace.

That means giving up revenge for a wrong no matter how grievous. (It does not mean you do not call the police, press charges, or testify in court).

That means staying peaceful in mind and spirit when someone cuts in front of you while driving or scares you half-to-death because of some antic while on the road. No cussing, shaking of fist in the air much less “doing it back”. (You can call 911 if you can give a description of the car and driver.)

I’ve been working on this one this past year. My success is not quite 100% but close. I have my driving conscience in the form of this snowy owl that hangs from my passenger side visor. And I choose to say a quiet prayer for the safety of that driver. Why? Because if that driver is safe, the others of us on the road are more likely to be safe also. And because I do believe that all behavior is purposeful. There is something happening in that driver’s life such that how he or she is driving makes sense.

It also means finding ways past disagreements that are not resolvable (it does take two people to find common ground and put the disagreement in the past).

I’ve stewed for years over my neighbor’s unwillingness to take care of her hedge. When I made a commitment to live a life of peace, including peaceful thoughts, I knew I had to do something about the hedge which had grown over one-half of my carport roof. It cost me over $300 to have my neighbor’s laurel hedge cut back from my property but I no longer stew over the *!X)# hedge.

Stress is the underlying cause of many of our health problems so it makes sense to figure out how to reduce and eliminate as much as we can.

Here are some questions I ask myself:

What do I control?

What can I do about what I control?

How do I let go of what I cannot control?

I’m not saying it is easy to find our answers.

But the process is simple.



Take care of what we do have control over.
Let go of what we cannot and do not control.
These are the keys to living a peaceful life.

What do you do to minimize stress in your life so you live a more peaceful life? You never know when an idea or practice you share can help someone else find their own answers so don't be shy!

Judith also posts the first Monday of the month at Romancing TheGenres.

You can follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s website and her Windtree Press author page.

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