Peace

and the life it gifts to us

How many times over decades have I stood with groups, some small, some large, to sing “Let There Be Peace On Earth”? Groups of diverse ages, faiths, politics, cultural backgrounds – all in the same space, often feeling some emotion, calmness and with oneness even if for those few moments.

We sing, sometimes taking the hands of those next to us, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me, let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be...”

We continue to sing – “Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now, with every breath I take, may this be my solemn vow….”

A life-giving word that was and is also a conversation.

For weeks I followed the Walk for Peace, the19 or so Buddhist monks who walked from Ft Worth, TX to Washington, DC, a distance of 2300 miles, approximately 20 miles each day.

Their whole purpose was to bring into our deeper consciousness not just the longing for peace, so clearly seen by the thousands and thousands who met them along the way.

One of their intentions was to breathe peace with each step, to bring peace to reality mindfully and with purpose.

Weather did not stop them.

Illness did not stop them.

Naysayers did not stop them.

A serious accident, results of which were one of the monks losing a portion of his leg and another participant injured, did not stop them.

Walking for Peace, not as show or to gain notoriety, but to remind us in what I call this wild and crazy world that peace is not something to only long for but to call us forth to live with intention of being it, sharing it, speaking it, building communities that take “may this be my solemn vow” seriously and also with joy.

The idea for the walk was seeded three years ago with a clear intention, vision, mission by the monk who was in the front for almost 108 days, only having to slow down and walk at the back for a short time when battling the flu. He is Venerable Bikkhu Pannakara.

If you watched the walk, I have no doubt you also know of Aloka, the dog whose name means “light.” The dog with a white heart shape on his forehead. The dog who was a stray in India and started walking with a group of monks there, including Venerable Pannakara, and would not leave them.

Money was raised to bring Aloka to the US and he walked over 1000 miles on this recent journey, side by side over all kinds of terrain and through all types of weather, before finally needing to have surgery on one leg. While healing, Aloka spent the remainder of the walk in one of the escort vehicles. However, he was with the 19 monks at every stop, often joining Venerable Pannakara to say hello to the crowds. Aloka won so many hearts he now has over a million FB friends.

From the quiet beginning to when the monks arrived in DC, thousands upon thousands of people of all diversities showed in community that the desire for peace is far stronger and deeper than for dissension.

Life-giving moments with soft words and a touch were often shared with those along the roadsides who had special needs or were in wheelchairs. One family said it changed their son who had not allowed anyone to touch him for years. Tears flowed freely as together, people acknowledged the ocean deep need at this time in our world for a vision and mission that promotes peace within and peace without.

I have experienced peace through many moments, situations and from people who have crossed my path. There is nothing like it. It is one of the greatest gifts.

And I also know what it is like when it is missing.

The song sung written in 1955 and sung through my own decades of life and with varied groups, the monks, Aloka the Peace Dog, and remembering the first words of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace – where there is hatred let me sow love … “ – and now a little blue bracelet around my wrist brings a fresh sense and intention to breathe into and breathe out words of peace as I go about my days.

The beauty of peace is that it can be shared in millions of ways.

May there be peace received, and peace given for and from each of us, and may we be aware of the difference it truly does make. I believe that wherever and however its presence, it is it is strong enough to lift the heaviest things in this world if we join together

Today, tonight is a perfect time to hold it and also share it.