Posts Tagged: peace

An Amazing Gift To Yourself

September 17th, 2014
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For the past four years, I have been watching a member of my family refuse to forgive someone.

Sounds incredible right?

How could someone voluntarily lug around that much baggage every day?  How could someone consciously decide, all on their own, every day, that they would rather be angry with someone 24 hours a day, than try to fix the problem by opening up an honest dialogue and talking about it to the other person? How can you constantly refuse to accept the hundreds of apologies that have been offered?

I guess it’s too hard.  I guess it’s too painful.  … Read More

Commiting To Heal

March 18th, 2014
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When committing yourself to begin healing, you are taking an important step.  You are in effect looking around yourself and saying that today’s situation isn’t working well for you and you are choosing to change. I have found that it’s a decision that can make you feel two contradictory emotions at the same time. On the one hand, you are feeling brave to decide to open yourself up to change but on the other hand, the act of opening yourself up to something new is scary and nerve wracking because it’s unpredictable. We all react differently to the loss of… Read More

Nelson Mandela

December 6th, 2013
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Rest In Peace Nelson Mandela. For you used your precious life and your healing nature to change the world and make it a much better place for generations to come. Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.                             ~ Nelson Mandela… Read More

Nothing More — The Alternate Routes

November 29th, 2013
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After a day spent counting our blessings and giving thanks, today we are full of gratitude right? To keep that warm and fuzzy and wonderful feeling of kindness going, here is a song introduced to me by Hannah Donnelly (a Jesuit Volunteer Corps alumni & my son’s girlfriend) that I know I will be singing or humming to myself today or whenever I feel my patience starting to wear.  It is a beautiful song, offering hope and I think it fosters the spirit of giving. The song, “Nothing More” was written specifically for Newtown Kindness (www.newtownkindness.org) and is performed by… Read More

Star Night Star Bright

November 21st, 2013
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I am one of those old school people who still have a daily newspapers delivered to my house.  During the work week when I go outside to get the newspaper, it is dark and the moon and the stars are still shining in the sky. It’s a great time to collect my thoughts for the day. This morning I took a moment to stand still on the sidewalk, take a deep breath, and say a prayer of gratitude for a new day and whatever it might bring.  As I gazed at the quiet beauty of the moon hanging in the… Read More

Truly Breathing

October 8th, 2013
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Breathing, centering, finding my inner peace.  That is what today is about. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, author, poet and peace activist. Just typing the combination of those words makes me feel calmer. I know that somewhere, under all the rushing and running around and multi-tasking is a peaceful inner core, and my aim is to find it. But first I have to create the conditions to get to it. What is the hurry? With the help of Thich Nhat Hanh’s quote below, I will decrease the speed with which I am living my life.  I… Read More

Make Each Day Meaningful

July 29th, 2013
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Resilience is a quality we all have within us.  We can take that resilience and make it work for us and strengthen ourselves if we choose. Resilience is a tenacity of spirit; a determination to deal with adversity in our lives.  I know it doesn’t feel like it at the time we are trying to handle one of life’s stressful or sad times, but the courage and patience that we find inside ourselves as we process hardships can help us come out on the other side of it a better person. A better person, you ask?  How can that be?… Read More

A Peaceful Soul

July 20th, 2013
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Thought For The Day. . . Photo Courtesy of The Secrets of the Sea For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.                        ~ Judy Garland… Read More