During a walk I noticed the word PEACE written on a paper angel attached to a tree fluttering in the wind. It took me several attempts to get the picture of the angel as the wind was strong and the angel was continually moving. While doing this it occurred to me that is just like life, we may set the intention that we want to lead a peaceful life and then life happens and perhaps someone annoys us, or we get an unexpected bill and before we know it, we are spun around and pulled out of our peace.
However, if we could remember to pause before we react, and acknowledge what we are feeling, such as “feeling frustrated” or “feeling angry”, and then take a few slow deep breaths (time to let the angel spin back) and then respond in a way that feels peaceful to oneself and others so that we may lead a more peaceful life and share this serenity with others.
“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means.”
~Dalai Lama XIV