Pledge of Peace and Love ~ Day 47 Tao Te Ching Chapter 2

We are working with the Tao Te Ching in the meditation group that I’m a part of. This was only our second night working with it. There was a passage that stood out to me in relation to peace. It is the end of the second chapter. This particular version is from the translation by John Wu.

He accomplishes his task, but does not dwell upon it. And yet it is just because he does not dwell on it that nobody can ever take it away from him.

When we were sitting in meditation after reading the chapter aloud, I found much peace in those thoughts because for me they were about release and non-attachment. You simply do what is yours to do and keep moving forward. You don’t dwell upon it.

How wonderfully peaceful. It is sometimes difficult to do, to not be attached to outcome, but there is also such peace in it. No worrying, no planning, just living the life you are creating. We are so trained to expect a result that when you don’t expect one you almost don’t recognize at first that sense of peace that comes with it.

Simply another step in the practice of peace I suppose, until I can become like the Sage in this same chapter and manage my affairs without ado.

Pledge of Peace and Love ~ Day 5

Today I’m working hard on peace; only not in a way I anticipated. I am working with the understanding that inner peace is not the same thing as being peaceful towards yourself. I’m certain that one must be peaceful towards oneself in order to really have inner peace, but I just never thought about it that way before. Somehow I had separated out the spiritual journey of peace from the physical aspect of peace, of treating the vessel peacefully.

I have a tendency to push myself and take on a lot. I have gotten much better over the years at saying no to at least some things I’m asked to do, in order to honor myself and the time I need with family or the need for down time. Well, let me clarify that, I’ve gotten better at saying no to others, but not so good at saying no to myself. I’m learning that clearly today as I’m feeling quite exhausted, but hadn’t honored that feeling enough over the past week to allow for much renewal time.

Now how does that contribute to the peace in the world, you may ask? Simple I would say. If I can’t honor myself, how can I truly honor another? If I can’t be peaceful toward myself, how will I truly be peaceful toward you? For me, peace is a practice and that practice begins with me and moves out from there. Right now I am really feeling the knowing that it doesn’t only begin with practice of inner spiritual peace, but also with the practice of inner physical peace through rest, renewal time and making nourishing choices about what I put into my body in the form of food and drink. In honor of that harmony of physical and spiritual peace and so I can better offer that peace to the world tomorrow, I will post this and go rest!