Daily Inspiration 2-21-19

"Peace on earth

is possible only when

you put peace before earth." 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 11-28-17]

Peace on earth, good will toward men. . . a phrase I've heard so many times, and especially this time of year.

I awoke this morning thinking of peace. What is peace? Is it the absence of conflict? Is it compromise? Is it a willingness to tolerate others in spite of the fact that we don't understand them or approve of how they live? What they do? Their culture, habits, religions?

Then this came to me: Harmony. It is the closest word I could think of to describe what peace is. It is harmony. It is harmony with the environment and harmony with each other. It is not toleration or even basic acceptance, it is harmony.

When I think of harmony, the first thing that comes to mind is music. Whether the music comes from our own vocal cords, or from some type of musical instrument, harmony is essentially more than one single note that is in resonance with the other. The notes are different and yet they are the same when they are in resonance. They are different and because they resonate, they compliment each other. They add to the whole. They improve the whole. Together with whatever number of notes, they become a symphony.

Think of a large symphony and all those different instruments, where there are even multiple instruments of the same type, like say, violins, for example. Even though there are multiples of the same type of instrument, each one is unique, and yet as they are skillfully played they resonate in such a way as to expand what was before to something quite delightfully different.

Then consider all the varied instruments from stringed instruments to reed instruments to horns to drums and percussive instruments, as varied as the piano is to the oboe, the kettle drum to the violin, the French horn to the guitar. They play different notes in different tones and timbre, low, high and in between, softly, and with panache, rhythmic and syncopated, so soft you can barely hear it, so loud it begs you to move. These and so much more come from this varied assembly.

This is harmony. This is peace. This is what peace is like in our world. When we have peace in our world, whether our own individual lives or that of the entire planet, we are in harmony with each other and all that is in that world we are focused on.


May Harmony Show You Peace. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by getting rid of the idea of tolerating others. That is only closing your eyes to something you don't want to see. Instead, find a real solution. Find the harmony that you can be in the symphony of your life.