Standing Up For Peace

Guest blog by Jane Asher Reaney

Choosing light in a noisy world.

Some may call it spiritual bypassing.

But in my heart, I know exactly what I am doing.

I am standing up for peace.

I am standing up for moments of joy.

I am standing up for nature.

I am standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

And in doing so, I choose to shine my light even brighter.

It is easy to get swept into the negativity — the hand-wringing, the noise, the clamor, the hatred that seems to echo from every direction. It is easy to feel pulled into it, obligated to carry it, convinced that we must sit in it to prove we care.

But I do not believe that.

I believe that what we give our attention to grows.

I am deeply involved in what matters to me — more than most people will ever know. None of us can see what another person does behind closed doors with their time, their energy, their resources, or their prayers.

So I stay in my own lane.

I know I am doing the work that is mine to do.

And I am infusing every ounce of my energy with love, with wonder, with amazement, with support.

Call it what you will.

I know that what I have inside me is beautiful, and I am going to share that beauty everywhere possibly, all day, every day.

In the soft paws of my puppy reaching for me to pet her.

In the hummingbirds feeding from my full feeders.

In the birds singing in the backyard.

In the big old ash tree that is opening up to welcome me with a hug.

In the voices of the people I love.

In old photographs that capture moments of pure connection.

In the deep passion I feel for my spiritual Higher Power of my understanding.

Yes, I am bypassing the noise, the ugliness, the unnecessary chaos that does not need to live in my orbit.

And I am welcoming the goodness that is right here, right now.

Call it what you will.

It doesn’t bother me.

Because I am shining my light.

I am standing up for peace.

Jane Asher Reaney, author of The Next Room

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