“Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.” — Etty Hillesum

Peace, joy, health and well-being can only be found inside us. They exist within us now, waiting to be discovered. Yet we tend to look to the outside world to satisfy our needs and longings.

Getting into the habit of meditating, praying and/or resting daily helps us pull back from our preoccupation with the material world. In silence and solitude, we have an opportunity to pay attention to what’s happening inside rather than outside.

When we do this consistently, we begin to relax. We learn to quiet and detach from our mental chatter and our turbulent emotions. As we begin to witness ourselves in personality, we also begin to experience the peace, beauty, love and wisdom of our soul.

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” — James Allen

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“What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on a mutual giving from the heart.” — Marshall B. Rosenberg

How do we support others who are suffering?

Not wanting to see others in pain, we usually try to do whatever we can to take their pain away. Unfortunately, this rarely helps in the way we intended. In reality, we can’t take away their suffering. What we can do is be fully present with them to acknowledge and share in their pain. With compassion, we can keep them company.

It also helps others when we can be present to our own experience and genuine in our feelings. Living our own truth helps create the space for the other person to live theirs.

“The first duty of love is to listen.” — Paul Tillich

“With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing.” — Catherine de Hueck Doherty

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“Choice is a fundamental essence of life, and in the fullest life, each choice is deliberate and savored.” — Grace Llewellyn

Stop for a moment and look closely at what you are choosing for yourself.

Why are you doing what you are doing? Would you prefer to be or do something different? How can you bring that ‘something different’ into reality?

“You make what seems a simple choice: choose a man or a job or a neighborhood – and what you have chosen is not a man or a job or a neighborhood, but a life.” — Jessamyn West

“CHOOSE LIFE – only that and always, and at whatever risk…. To let life leak out, to let it wear away by the mere passage of time, to withhold giving it and spending it is to choose nothing.” — S.H. Kelley

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