Hi Everyone - Did any of you happen to take part in any of the September 21 world peace activities? I received some beautiful videos and emails with inspirational messages that kept me reminded of this important date. In case you happened to miss out, I would like to dedicate this blog to the 2010 International Day of Peace, and the importance to our future that this day represents.

All of us wish for and dream of peace in this world. And even though we have our own stressors, day in and day out, as we step back and view the world from a larger point of view, we recognize that the world has great stressors as well. Some are political, some are economic, and some are environmental.

It is my belief that what the world needs right now is not so much a change of politics, but a change in our hearts and lives. It needs us to cooperate and support one another rather than compete. It needs us all to be focused on blessing one another, rather than blaming each other.

In her book, The Age of Miracles, author and lecturer Marianne Williamson notes that, “We are in the midst of a great revolution – a time in which we will make a quantum leap from one era of human history to another. Things will be radically different over the next years as we enter either a new age of darkness or a new age of light.”

We often feel like we a small and insignificant when it comes to such important issues as world peace. On the contrary. Now is the time for each one of us to take the first step toward leading the way toward a more peaceful world. We do that by first becoming more peaceful ourselves, releasing judgments and blame, and instead, tuning our hearts to love. The last half of my book, Why Wait? Be Happy Now! is devoted to exactly how we can tune our hearts to love. But for now, I would like to give you five steps you can take right now to start becoming the peace you want to see in the world:

1. Be grateful in the present moment rather than stressed about the future. Consider making a daily list of at least three things for which you are grateful Choose different things each day. One of the benefits of this exercise is that it keeps you focused on the good stuff!
2. Practice acts of kindness on a daily basis. Seek ways to help others. The smallest acts of kindness can make a huge difference.
3. Practice forgiveness. A friend of mine, whose husband recently asked for a divorce, told me she was tired of her minister telling her to forgive him. I reminded her of the saying from Buddha that hanging on to anger is like holding a hot coal. You intend to throw it at the other person, but you are the one that gets burned. You aren’t forgiving for the other person’s benefit, but for yourself.
4. Surround yourself with positive, like minded people and nurture those relationships. Especially, let them know you appreciate them and respect them. Practice the five to one ratio (five positive interactions with them for every negative interaction.)
5. Consciously bring forth your highest potential in order to make your highest contribution to the world. Keep expanding your knowledge and wisdom. Keep growing as a person. Remember, life has only one exam – a final exam that asks two questions: How much did you love? How much did you learn and grow?

In case you didn’t have the opportunity to see it, the following is the link to a beautiful video created by Heartmath, LLC. I encourage you to have a look. I believe that you will find that it is worth the “cut and paste” effort!

http://www.heartmath.org/templates/ihm/articles/landing/peace-day/2010/index.php?mtcCampaign=11967&mtcEmail=28930072


With greatest love and respect for you,
Donna Daisy