PEACE

Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

I have always liked this prayer--and I love several songs that use these words. But, recently, I learned that this prayer is a universal truth. A universal truth,as I understand it, is something that no religion, Hindu, Christian, Busdist, or Jewish, any one religion can claim as their own--or that they carry out this message better than any other religion. It is true because it comes from GOD. It has always been true and it will always be true. These truths come to us--people--wrapped up in religion--or meditation--or spirituality--or whatever. But, they are true, they have always been true and they will always be true.

WOW! That may be more than you bargained for when you signed on to read this Blog. But I needed to say it and to have it read. I hope that is OK with all of (all be it few) my readers.

I have not entered a blog in 10 or 11 days. For that I want to apologize. I have been dealing with some complicated personal issues and needed the time to be contemplative and "listen more that speak" if you know what I mean. Now, I am ready to speak again. WOW! This feels so good.

Taking time to be contemplative has never been easy for me. My husband has a saying (I don't know where he got it), "It is better to be tuned in than to be broadcasting" or "You learn more when you are tuned in and not broadcasting", I am married to a very smart man.

Well, it is a gorgeous, cool, fall morning and I am still in my bed clothes at 8:55am. I had a long phone conversation in the midst of writing this so I need to finish and get ready for my day.

Thought for the day: Be a Peacemaker--be compassionate, loving, understanding--do not ask for any of those things from anyone. The only way we can be true peacemakers is in being compassionate, loving and understanding to others. But, know that all of those things will come back to you in good time if you send them out into the world with no strings attached. The hard thing is to not attach the strings.

Take care,
MissT