Creating Peace

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict.” ― Dorothy Thompson

I find myself working on this more these days. I know that it is unrealistic to never have conflict. I have been stepping out of conflict situations. Instead, I am opting to listen and learn.  This alternative action or lack thereof is bringing peace to my life.

In the moments that I feel I want to respond. I take a deep breath and think about what it is that I want to say. Taking these few seconds allows me to control my attitude in the conflict. The breath calms me down if I am agitated. I am creating peace. I am choosing to my attitude. Attitude is what really makes a person react negatively.  You are also in those moments, telling the other person that you want to be cautious in what you say and do.

Choose your action and attitude.  Bring peace to your soul.  It is in the peaceful moments you hear your spirit.

My meditative life.

This morning I awoke to the alarm.  Rarely does this happen. The past 15 years I have had trouble sleeping.  I wake several times during the night. Normally I am up before the alarm. With my meditations I am finding that several nights a week I sleep through the night.  This was a very unusual occurrence for me  until last October/November.

Prior to that November time period,  I was meditating at night in bed. I know that is not how it is done. I was attempting to put my own spin on things.  I discovered that the path behind our subdivision was a pleasant walk. As I walked longer trails I began meditating and praying during my walks.  I made a point to try to be on the trail first.  I wanted to have the area undisturbed and to myself.  In the beginning, I could only walk a mile. During that time initially, I would focus on asking God for everything. I heard a sermon from Joel Osteen.  He said something like "Stop repeating the same thing over and over, God knows what you want. He just wants to talk to you." I began to just have conversations with God.  Not really asking for things. Just talking as you would talk to a friend. What does this have to do with meditation you ask?  It was in these moments that I was/am able to control my emotions, my thoughts and my breathing. All of these are components of meditation.

I can now walk four miles a day with little effort. I take the time to look up and see all that our heavenly father has created. I listen to hear the birds singing. I sit by the lake and am still. I take the road less traveled. I have learned so much about myself in the stillness. I feel like a new person when I return home. My mind is clear and strengthened. I am ready to face the day.