Peace, like anything worth grasping, requires work.  Peace is a daunting task.  Peace is, unfortunately, never as easy as it sounds or should be to attain.  Peace asks for great sacrifices from those who are willing to stand up and demand it and peace asks for unwavering support for those who made that choice.  Peace demands patience.  Patience for its arrival, patience with its cost, patience for a time when the word itself is part of history.  Peace yearns for a time when it is remembered for when it wasn’t and cherished for what it is.  Peace does not want to be defined, it wants to exist without the necessity of definition.    

Peace is for the future.  For my future, for your future, for the future of generations to come.  Those who are still learning their words will learn the word “peace” as well.  Hopefully, they will be shown an example, rather than a book that described what it once was.  Peace is a building block for which the entire infrastructure of humanity is built on.  Peace is a rock to place a house.  Peace is the front door of that house always being open.

Peace is why we gather this time of year and spend time with one another.  We sit in our homes, and the homes of loved ones, laughing and remembering the great times we’ve had together, waiting for more good times to come.  Peace holds us together. 

On the grand scale, peace is hurting, and has been for some time.  But the best part about peace is that it is adhesive and contagious.  It can spread like wildfire as long as there is a catalyst and a chain to continue it.  So this holiday season, as you contemplate the great things in your life, think about what you can do to enrich the lives of others.  This is a season for giving.  Whether it’s through charity or a simple smile, a giving of yourself is a spreading of peace.  So pay attention to the short and fleeting opportunities where it is so simple to continue this spread.  Make it endemic.  Make it popular.  Don’t let it stop on January 1^st.

Happy holidays!

Wishing you, dear reader, a joyous and peaceful Holiday season!

Lauretta Harris, Writer Extraordinaire

“Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.“

 Mahatma Gandhi

Finding that “peace from within” has been tough this year. With the economy in recession and so many people out of a job, my peace of mind has become a luxury – the one gift most wished for, yet most elusive. Normally I revel in the traditions of the holidays and the nostalgia that the season brings. But this year I have been more anxious about the future than ever, and sometimes have felt adrift…I have been worrying about my families’ health and welfare with my oldest brother suffering a major stroke, and my father in-law fighting cancer. And several of my family members have lost their jobs due to the recession…Peace of mind seems to have become a causality in 2008.    

 But then I think of my son Oliver spending Christmas in Africa this year, serving in the Peace Corps. Fortunately we have had the opportunity to talk and E-mail frequently. He tells us of the abject poverty where he lives, and the pervasive corruption throughout much of Africa. Yet Oliver is determined to make a difference, to be a part of the solution. He knows he isn’t going to change the world, but still works towards helping change one small part of it. His peace of mind remains unaffected by his circumstances, and through his brave example I have gained back a little of my own inner peace at this challenging time. I appreciate the idea that even a pebble tossed in a lake will make waves and exacts some change.

 So that is what peace means to me this 2008 Holiday season – gaining back peace of mind and remembering that we all can make a difference. The Holidays should be a time to be thankful and reflect on what waves we can make in our own little part of the world. How we can give back for all that we receive. I thank all my Family for their courage, strength and perseverance this year, helping to remind me what is really important.      

David Borzo, Blog Writer, Artist, Historian and more

Reading with my children

Laughing with my husband

Walks with my dog

Quiet conversations with friends

Paula Tommins, Director Client Development

I befriended my 90 yr old ex-neighbor by simply taking the time to have a cup of tea with her. Not because I pitied her, but because I saw the feisty lady she’d always been and still is. A lonely soul at this moment in time, because she outlived her husband and most of her friends.

I’d like to dedicate this post to her by sharing this site with all of you: http://www.wisdombook.org/

Let’s celebrate growing older gracefully, let’s say thanks for gained wisdom and live our lives to the fullest, enjoy!

Nicoline Deen

Director, Business Services