Peace Begins with Me

We attended a concert a while back, Beatlemania with the local Symphony. It was great fun, all of us Baby Boomers dancing and groovin’ away to all the songs we grew up with. One thing really caught our attention though, aside from the beer bellies and blue jeans; we were delighted to see many in the audience opening their cell phones to shine light on the concert. It’s been a while since we’ve been to a rock concert, cell phones instead of cigarette lighters, amazing! It started with just a couple and then the lights multiplied one by one as more and more of us caught on. A single light here, another there, four more in that section, a whole row across the way; eventually, the entire hall was filled with shining lights. Cool…..

Deepak Chopra talks about how we can create a more peaceful world, not by marching at a peace rally or demanding our government stop the war, but by living our own lives from a place of peace, by recognizing that change begins not just with us, but in us. He believes that one by one we can reach critical mass, that we can hit that tipping point that makes peace an everyday occurrence for our entire planet.

What if that was all it took? By creating harmony in our own space, we are creating harmony on our planet. Each of us living our own life in peace and allowing our light to shine? Can’t you just see it? One by one, a twinkle here, a flicker there, until the lights begin to merge together lighting up the darkness.

Kind of reminds me of the song many of us learned in Sunday school This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that just one person can make a difference. And yes, one light is just a tiny glimmer, but thousands of lights can brighten a concert arena, and millions of lights, all shining together, can brighten a world.

There is only one thing to remember: LOVE is all there is.