Peace and Goodwill

Anger chews me up and gets into my stomach…my heart…my whole being.

There is a simple cure for this upset and it’s called letting go!

My anger with you has something to do with me, and I seem unwilling to let it go. I play your meanness over and over in my mind.

This season’s theme is Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men!

The belief that this peace comes from somewhere else and the goodwill is only for others is a falsehood. Peace begins with me and you. If we can’t forgive and live peacefully, then how can “nations” survive.

Peace begins in my heart. If you have a bad day, I must willing to overlook your tone, get out of your face, and get on with me. That sounds so easy and so idealist that even writing it makes me wonder how this can be accomplished. But if I keep your unpleasant tones and words in my mind, I will be putting a huge wall between us! Every time I think about you, I recall those mean words and that tone and I become resentful. Here we go again…you didn’t make me happy, take my part, or help me! That’s it, I didn’t get from you what I thought I deserved. You are not taking care of my needs.

It took me a long time to realize that your words, good or bad, do not shape my life. I am responsible for taking care of my own well-being with God’s guidance…not yours!

I am happy that wiser people have overlooked my tones and mean words. I am happy that they believed that peace could begin in their hearts. They made a positive effort to ignore anger.

My goal is to remember who I am, what needs I have and what my weaknesses are. When I take my own inventory, I am not angry with you and who you are at given times. My focus must be on letting peace begin in my heart. Sometime this season, I hope I can overlook that cranky clerk, that family member who lectures me, or anyone or anything that disturbs my peace. That way, I have plenty of time to be courteous and helpful…time that I used to waste being angry.

So let it begin here and now. Peace on Earth…Goodwill to Men!