I was listening to NPR's Here and Now yesterday. They did a segment on Darfur.Darfur is one of those things that comes into and out of my consciousness now and again. It's "in" when I'm confronted with it, "out" most every other moment of my day. I'm not proud of this fact, today it got "in" and stayed there.
I was on my way to UMass Lowell to talk with the students about their work, something I enjoy doing. I was up, I was happy, I was driving with a smile on my face.
What I heard -- about a woman who had her child pulled from her arms and bayonetted in front of her -- didn't upset me in the traditional sense. Instead it made me wonder, "What can I do?"
Well, maybe what I can do isn't much, maybe it's a lot. I can call upon the power of The Village. Here's what I'm asking; Take one minute, just 60 seconds, and think "Peace".
That's it.
Keep on smoking, drinking, eating, laughing, loving. I'm not asking you to give up anything. I don't want you to interrupt your day. You can do this when you have just one minute. When you're stopped at a red light or in commuter traffic, for example. As you close your eyes before you go to sleep. When you wash your hands next. When you walk from your parking space to your office or into the mall. Please do whatever you normally do, just add one minute of "Peace".
If you can't do 60 seconds, do 10, 5 or 1. Practice it. You can get to 60 seconds in no time.
I'm not even asking everybody to synchronize and beam their thoughts at any government or individual. I don't want you to do it for me or for anybody else. I'm inviting you to be selfish. I'm inviting you to do it for yourself. Whenever you happen upon this posting, take a moment...or sixty...and think "Peace".
I'll share a trick to help you focus; you're probably going to be breathing during this sixty seconds of peace. When you inhale, think "Peace". When you exhale, think "Peace". If you're like most people, you'll have quite a few moments of peace by the time you're done.
And it's only for just one minute.
Peace.
You have a minute for Peace, don't you?
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