At the top of my blog-site it says:
One Woman’s attempt to save the earth, promote world peace and raise productive citizens without expending too much effort.
So far, in my posts, I’ve focused on the earth part. Today, I’m thinking about world peace. I know how to achieve it. It’s not a guess or a theory, I’m quite certain I know! Here’s what we need to do:
Get rid of all the lawyers and politicians. hahahaha. Not really. Well. Maybe. But that’s not my idea.
In October, 2010 we moved into our current house. It’s really just the cutest little place. It’s got everything but a white picket fence. Compared to some of the exceptionally awful places we’ve lived in the past 10 years it’s our little corner of heaven. We even like the neighbors! Our new digs are sort-of right in the middle of our tiny town and so people are forever “just dropping in.” A few months ago we noticed a pattern…. people would drive up in a rush, ring the doorbell and, when we answered, start talking in a rush. “I’msorrytojustdropinbutweareinsuchahurryandIneededtoaskyouifyoucould…..” and then they’d pause and, invariably, pay us a compliment. Not just ANY old compliment. They would say the one thing that meant the most to us. They would say, “It’s so PEACEFUL in here!”
Now, you have to understand… our house is almost always cluttered. Toys and shoes everywhere. We have more books than we have shelves and our style of decor is early American Salvation Army. People are not reacting to the decor or the fung shui! It really, genuinely IS peaceful. And here is why:
We are thankful. Full of gratitude. Bursting at the seams with it. We have SO MUCH. Every day. All the time. We have been blessed over and over again. Our cup runneth over!!!
It’s my husband’s fault. He taught me and, in turn we’ve taught our children together, that love, peace, gratitude, etc actually, physically produce measurably high vibrations that resonate out into the world attracting more love, peace, gratitude, etc.
What do we, with our tiny house and 2nd hand furniture have to be thankful for? Well…. once during a dark time of our lives we covered a wall with newsprint and started listing every single thing we could think of that we could be thankful for. Each other, of course. Shelter. Furniture. Beautiful, healthy children. Good health. A really cozy comforter on the bed. 3 TVs. Toilet paper. Hot running water. Shoes. The most awesome dog in the universe. Friends. A car that works. A computer. Clean air to breathe. Library cards. Clean socks.
You get the idea. And, ever since then, even in “dark” times it has been easier to see the light.
Know what makes me lose my vibe though? Grouchy whiners. People who gripe about this town. “People are gossipy. The village council fights too much. The street light on the corner of x and y has been out for 3 weeks.” Oh…. WHATEVER!!! Cry me a river!!!! You don’t think that there are BILLIONS of people in the world that would give EVERYTHING THEY HAVE to live in this crappy little 2-stop-light-town? Maybe, instead of griping about it you could start thinking about the good things in this town. A super cheap ice cream place. The 2nd best pizza in the universe. (www.eatatlenas.com) A tiny little grocery store that makes a point of buying fresh produce from local farmers. (www.borchardtbrothers.com) An elementary school principal that obviously, visibly cares about the children in the school more than the bureaucrats running the Dept. of Ed. An outstanding volunteer fire department. A food bank that serves hundreds but NEVER runs out of food. (www.stpaulblissfield.org) Citizens that care enough about their neighbors to be sure the food bank never runs out of food. This doesn’t just apply to griping about the town, but any griping in any form. About anything or anyone. Ever. Consider: Is there a person in your life who is the bane of your existance? Be thankful you don’t have to live with them. Oh? You do? Well, be thankful that you can escape to a different room in the house? You can’t? Well, be thankful that, for a few hours a day you can escape into sleep.
I could go on for hours… days… months…. but you get the idea.
And do you know what happens when you start CONSCIOUSLY being in a state of gratitude for all these awesome things?
MORE awesome things come to you! Really! It’s true! I’ve lived it. Give it a try.
“But,” some may say, “I honestly have NOTHING to be thankful for?” Of course you do! Didn’t God grant you the breath to say that? Are you standing in front of me on two strong legs? Did you sleep well last night? Is the sun warming your skin? Find ONE thing to be grateful for and I guarantee you’ll find more. And more. And more. Please note, the same is true of the opposite. If you find things to complain about…. It’s a CHOICE you make EVERY day. Will you be all upset that there are injustices in the world? Or will you give thanks from the depths of your soul for those loving, caring saints who fight for folks less fortunate than themselves and join them in their good work?
God is Good. All the time!
And THAT, my friends, is the key to world peace. You see…. because someone taught my husband this amazing truth he taught me and now I am thankful and living in a state of peace. Now I’m teaching you and you can be at peace too. If 30 people read this and teach 30 more that will be another 60 people living at peace. And so on and so forth. And, when we, as a society, become really and truly grateful for the ridiculous number of blessings that have been showered down upon us we will find that we don’t need to hoard anything from the rest of the world because we KNOW we have enough. We don’t need to forcibly take anything from anyone else because we KNOW we have enough.
And then the world will have peace.
Your homework, dear friends? Right now, before doing anything else, give thanks for 3 things.
Feel like sharing? Post a comment and tell me what they are. I’d love to know!
Oh! BTW, the 1st best pizza in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE? The Pizza Junction in Huntington, IN.
