August 28, 2010 marked the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. I don’t think he could even have imagined the impact of that speech. He got us all thinking then and we are still thinking today.
His message was about looking past the form of our lives to the content of who and what we all are. Yes, there are things we need to do here and now, but unless we change our minds from thoughts of anger, fear and attack to thoughts of love, we will simply continue the cycle of conflict. This is what the Course is truly asking us to do.
With all that is going on in this world — with war and environmental disasters — it is time for us to cultivate a consciousness of peace. I have written many times (in various issues of The Holy Encounter magazine) about the Course’s radically different approach to peace. Instead of fighting against something, it asks us to support the presence of peace. That is a mighty task because it means looking at the daily compromises to peace that we make . . . the anger in traffic, the judgments about those in “power,” the frustrations we have over day-to-day issues that we allow to rob us of our peace, and a myriad of other things. We hand over our peace daily to this or that and then wonder why our world leaders can’t find peaceful solutions. We need to start being the leaders of peace, by making peace a priority in our daily lives. We need to stop waiting for others to be nice to us; for the world and our lives to change before peace can be found within.
A Course in Miracles says, “The best defense, as always, is not to attack another’s position but rather to protect the truth.” (T36) It is time for us to nurture the truth and our peace in every situation, for that is our only reality. Let us begin to plant seeds of peace wherever we may feel anger or fear. Let us be the bringers of peace to our world and lives.
With that in mind, I want to invite you to email the Center and request a Peace Gem as a reminder of this truth. At our annual international conference on A Course in Miracles this year we gave each participant a gem to remind them that they are the “treasure of God” with the opportunity to bring peace with them wherever they went. We would like all of our readers to have one as well. You can put it in your pocket, purse, car or somewhere at home as a reminder that you are the treasure of God and that you can allow that peace to radiate in your life. However you may use it, may peace and your willingness to be a bringer of that peace to all you meet or think of be the focus.
Thank you, dear friend, for being a bringer of that thought of peace to me and so many around the world through your ongoing, support of Miracle Distribution Center.
P.S. If you have not already done so, take our Pledge for Peace