World Day of Peace

Jan. 1 is significant for being the first day of the year, but it is also designated as a World Day of Peace for thinking about how we can bring peace and harmony into our lives.

Even as horrible violence and oppression are occurring in many parts of the world, we must not despair. As actors on this planet, there are ways we can create peace around us.

Some things are simple, like holding a shop door open for a busy mother with children, or making room for someone on a crowded bus, or taking yourself to Huntington Park to see nature’s beauty and meditating on the loveliness of our area.

Other ways are harder, like holding your tongue and keeping a juicy secret, or taking it on the chin instead of taking revenge when someone hurts you, or standing by someone and being the best friend they ever had.

Clearly, it is difficult to solve big international problems and bring serenity to the world. But one person can make all the difference – think of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter or even Mayor Clough!

To paraphrase Francis of Assisi, let us all try to be an instrument of peace and where there is despair, let us bring hope.

– Kathleen Maloney, Westlake

Read More on Letters to the Editor
Volume 8, Issue 1, Posted 10:01 AM, 01.05.2016