Peace begins here.
I think a lot about peace. Especially as violent events unfold in the world around us, I think of it. The problems seem so big. Some are of the opinion that to bring peace, we must first bring more violence. I do not agree with this. Violence begets violence until someone breaks that cycle. I don't have the power to end that cycle in a large sense, but I keep thinking of a letter that was forwarded on to me when things in Syria first began to take a turn for the worse, and it is full of sound advice for the work that is mine to do. I carry the words of this paragraph from the letter in my mind as I go about my daily work:
If we are truly concerned about the strife in the world today, let us begin by overcoming anger in our own hearts by striving for meekness and humility. If we are upset by the violence and destruction in the Middle East, let us direct our energy to bring peace to the conflicts within our own families. If we are horrified by images of human beings injuring and killing one another, let us offer an image of Christ by giving alms to those in need in our own neighborhood.
