Peace

Living gratefully today, I give thanks for pens and journals and the words that flow from one onto the other. 

Peace is my word for the year, delivered in the mail earlier this month from my friend Laurel. Thanks Laurel! Peace within is my biggest struggle. I have a mind that has too often over the years undermined peace and calm. The disease of alcoholism and the the toxic thoughts that it feeds have led to much dis-ease for me. 

Daily work on recovery has helped me come to recognize peace and calm in my mind and heart. The work continues, and the dividends grow. So peace is a wonderful word for the year for me, especially as I strive for more routine meditation time.

Today, the peace I am focused on is the peace of this country I reside in. Unrest has been a frequent term used in recent months for so many challenges we face as a nation. For unprecedented challenges to the democracy we have maintained and the constitution we have upheld for nearly 250 years.

My peaceful hopes for today:  No violence or injuries to fellow Americans. The beginning of healing and unifying after so much division. Common ground for common causes; especially pressing is getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Peace within begins with me. Peace in my country begins with me too. Each of us has our part as a citizen.

This was yesterday's "Word for the Day" on www.gratefulness.org:

When change comes, you gotta slow down and take note of it. 

In the midst of that change is all the possibility in the world.

Bertice  Berry 

As I often do, I looked up more about the author of the quote. I found out that sociologist and author Bertice Berry grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. President-elect Joe Biden left that same city yesterday to make his way to Washington, D.C. and the presidency. It seems a fitting connection.

Change is coming. There is much work to be done. The possibilities are endless. I pledge to do my part.