the candle for the second sunday in advent represents peace. there are many different kinds of peace. the sort of peace that immediately comes to mind is the peace that is the absence of war, a rare occurrence in a world where there is hardly a day that goes by without some sort of armed conflict between two or more groups of people. there is the peace that is part of the expression, "peace and quiet," when there are no loud noises or boisterousness of any kind. "breach of the peace" is a legal term that, in this country, means to disturb the right of citizens to live peaceful lives but has much broader meanings in some other countries where it can mean certain types of offenses against the state.
the peace i want to write about is inner peace, the sort of peace which results in equanimity and the ability to take life as it comes without strong reactions that trouble us and cause others to be troubled. in this time of covid and political conflict, achieving peace within ourselves is difficult but essential. worries, illness, and uncertainty threaten us and those we love. the physical isolation from our friends and family members who live outside our homes threatens our mental health. being unable to visit those we love who are hospitalized or in nursing homes and assisted living facilities gives us pain. wearing masks whenever we are out in public increases our separation from others. we can't hug or shake hands when we see our friends in shops. if we are exposed to the virus, our isolation is increased further. all these things can rob us of our sense of well-being and whatever inner peace we had during more normal times.
our need to take time to explore our inner life becomes all the more important. those of us who spend time in daily meditation fare better than many, i suspect. this time away from the constant chatter of our minds helps to recharge and better equip ourselves to deal with the vagaries of life in the age of covid and the waning days of the trump presidency. even with that, the hardships of this new way of having to live takes its toll, and we long for a return to our old way of living when we could travel freely, unencumbered by masks, and enter restaurants, places of worship, and stores without fear of exposure, when we could embrace those we love and shake hands with our friends, when we could spend more time away from home doing activities that we love. those days will return before too much longer once many of us have been vaccinated against the virus, and a more normal presidency is in place. until then, we must remind ourselves that we must find peace within ourselves if we are to deal effectively with what life throws at us and finding such peace takes some effort on our part.
may we each find inner peace in whatever ways work for us. may we recognize the natural tendency to worry and to curse the circumstances that cause our worries and forgive ourselves for having such thoughts. may we realize that others sometimes behave in ways that offend us when they are dealing with the strains of our present state. may we return as often as we can to our breath and the quieting of our minds. shalom.
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