MANY years ago, I bought a book entitled “There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem,” by Wayne Dyer, and left it on the bookshelf. I wish I read it earlier.
Actually, I must have started reading it, as I saw some highlighted portions that I made on the first few pages. Part I was too profound for me and so I must have given up reading the book years ago. It is a good thing I decided to skip Part 1, and read Part 2 this week. It was the “CALL TO ACTION” part.
It starts by quoting the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, one that many of us are familiar with. Here goes:
“Lord, make me an instrument of THY 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;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life”
I must have said this prayer tens of times, and heard it even more times, as it is said after every mass at the St. Francis Church in Pasig.
However, it was only after reading the first chapter of Part 2, that the prayer made sense as a solution for life’s many problems.
Let me share some learnings and quotes from the book:
“If you are yourself at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world. Then share your peace with everyone, and everyone will be at peace.” - Thomas Merton
When you think of God, think peace. This happens when you are in conscious contact with God. Peace and God are synonymous.
The enlightened life is described as being immersed in and surrounded by peace.
Visualize the millions of heavenly objects hurtling, spinning and orbiting in perfect unison in the universe. The earth is just one of the many million objects in the universe. Our country, our city, our house, and our bodies are infinitely small in this whole universe that God has created, and has put order and peace into.
“Thy peace” is the essence of our universe. It is God at work, at play, and everywhere in between. It is infinite love. “Thy peace” becomes what we are an instrument of. When followed, it provides us the spiritual solution to every problem.
Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than what you think it should be.
Let what bothers you affect your bodies, but not your inner being that is in a normal state of peace.
Read the DESIDERATA and fathom its truths: “Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence...”
It is always about how you choose to process events, not the events themselves that determine your level of peace.
You become an instrument of peace at any given moment of your life by deciding that you are not going to use your mind for anything other than peaceful thoughts.
Go to that quiet, serene and peaceful place within you. It is here where you know what being an instrument of peace means. Here, the emphasis is on giving, rather than receiving, peace.
You do not seek peace by looking into the lives of others and wishing that they would change so that you could become more peaceful. Rather, you bring your own sense of calm so that you could become more peaceful.
“All pain comes simply from a futile search for what you want, insisting where it must be found.”
Your problems can only be experienced in your minds, and when you bring peace to your minds, you put yourselves into a mode of taking appropriate action. You have the power to choose peace.
10. Find time to be alone and undisturbed, and “Let go, and let God”.
By doing so, you let go of your sense of taking personal responsibility for everything and everyone around you, and in a calm way you turn all that over to God, the God of Peace.
St. Francis said, “What is it that stands higher than words? It is ACTION. What is it that stands higher than Action? It is SILENCE.”
When you return to the noisy and chaotic world, it will now be with a new partner, God, which is “Thy Peace.”
Remember that no one and nothing can take away your peace without your consent.
Your peace is between you and God. It is not between you and anyone else, or any set of circumstances.
Make peace with yourself. Forgive yourself for all your errors, weaknesses and shortcomings. Let go of your self-destructive guilt over past mistakes. “There is value in your journey through the dark nights of your soul.”
Lastly, be a Peacemaker. Practice peacemaking. For it is in giving that you receive.
By giving peace, you will receive peace, and after you are at peace, your problems all dissolve.
My dearest children and grandchildren (may you read this someday),
You all know what makes me lose my temper, and distances me from peace.
At work, it is any act or omission that displeases the customer or guest of work, it is seeing what is wrong triumphing over what our values tell us is right.
It is seeing persons taking advantage of our weaknesses, including the abuse of “kindness” or “benevolence.”
It is seeing a sense of entitlement rather than a sense of gratitude being displayed.
It is seeing pride and arrogance and disrespect for elders, and disobedience in God’s normal order of things.
It is seeing impunity and abuse of authority by people in power.
But rather than be angry at such people, we are told that they are our greatest teachers. They assist us in being instruments of peace.
How? As Rick Warren says, we develop good character traits and become better disciples of Christ by being exposed to people and events that normally would bring out the opposite trait in us. Thus, by not succumbing to such “natural” inclinations of anger, frustration, and impatience, we develop peace in our inner selves.
By repeating this mantra: “I CHOOSE PEACE, RATHER THAN THIS”, may we all be at peace and be instruments of “THY PEACE”.