Creating Peace in Your Corner of the World

As we enter what is being termed the “endemic” phase of the coronavirus pandemic here in the United States – meaning, the virus is here to stay and we’re all going to have to learn how to live with it – I notice that, unfortunately, all our troubles are still not over.

One need only spend a few minutes on the news or social media to be bombarded with bad news: the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the breakdown of civility and continued mistrust and hostility between Americans of differing viewpoints, natural disasters, record high gas prices, inflation, shuttered businesses, scarcity in the stores, children continuing to experience deep learning losses and emotional anxiety – the list goes on, and on. It is enough to make one wonder, when will it end, and is there anything at all I can do?

The sense of helplessness in the face of all this evil is maddening, and unproductive. It distracts from one’s relationship with God, and from hope.

Considering this situation in prayer, I was reminded that sometimes the best we can do is to simply try to create peace in our own corner of the world.

Tending your own corner of the world

No matter how much I’d like to be a “global citizen,” I cannot affect a real change in Ukraine. While I can make a difference by donating money or raising awareness, it is true that no amount of worry on my part will end the conflict. Unless I, personally, enter peace negotiations, it is highly unlikely any action I take will have any measurable effect on what is happening on the other side of the world. Likewise, aside from prayer for guidance for our leaders, there is nothing I can do about gas prices, natural disasters, and so on.

But, I do always have one option: I can create peace where I am.

Subsidiarity is the principle, formulated by the Catholic Church, that says “human affairs are best handled at the lowest possible level, closest to the affected pe[r]sons.”  Typically, this applies to matters of political governance. For example, what a town council can do should be left to the town council, and not overtaken by the state government; or a state’s legislature is explicitly empowered to make laws without the interference of the federal government. Let the person, or people, closest to the problem be responsible for resolving it.

Does this principle not also apply to governing the affairs of our own lives? If I cannot directly impact peace at the global level, how can I initiate peace in my own life and community?

Look inward

Start to create peace in your own corner of the world by asking: how do I define peace in my own life – what does it look like?  Go further by asking:

• What do the relationships in my own life look like right now?
• How much time do I take to cultivate peace within myself, and in my domestic and professional spheres?
• Can I acknowledge the strained relationships in my own world, and am I willing to work on them?
• How do I treat my family, employees, the grocery store cashier, the mail man?
• How much time do I spend in prayer, being present with God, and asking His will for me?
• Am I ready to show, or receive, forgiveness and mercy to others and myself?

Creating peace

I personally have gained a sense a peace over the last couple pandemic years by having no choice but to live more simply than I did prior – staying put, spending time with loved ones, and in nature – which led to more fully understanding life’s priorities, and what really matters. I have been made better for the experience of realizing the importance to tending my own corner of the world.

Now, I see that peace is making a homemade lemon meringue pie for a friend. Peace is found losing oneself in the quiet hour spent reading a book in the sunlight. It is in sharing a laugh with a child over something silly, or visiting an elderly neighbor for coffee.  Peace is also petting a purring cat, watching hummingbirds feed in the back yard, learning about a new subject, and walking a new path in the woods. It is a good conversation, a good meal, a good sunset. Peace is wonder, surprise, and the openness to being shown something new by God. It is from these small acts that great acts of peace follow, and we must actively cultivate these moments in our lives.

Where does peace begin? According to Saint Mother Theresa, “Peace begins with a smile.”

Seek the kingdom of God

The unhappy news in this world will always be with us. But, we have the opportunity to remember our own imperative to focus on the beauty, love, and peace we are entirely able to create in our own relationships, and in the ways we spend our time. Do not lose sight of how much God needs us creating peace in the world.

I am reminded of several verses of scripture. “But seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). Be about the things of the Lord before anything else (including watching the news).

Also, “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Someone once explained this verse to me in a way that provided me a new understanding: the kingdom of God is not far off, it is right here, for us to participate in. Similarly, “For behold, the kingdom is God is among you” (Luke 17:21).

It starts with you

The secular culture tells us peace is the business of politicians and diplomats. How untrue this is!  If we would look at our world with God’s eyes, we would see how much he loves us, and what really matters is loving Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Start by finding God’s peace in the human connections to nature, and each other, right in front of us.

As a result of the pandemic, I am far less interested in “peace” as a global political objective and more interested in peace as a possibility in my own life. While I desire an end to conflict in every part of the world, I also recognize the high value in finding and creating peace where I am.

In doing these small acts of peace, we find God. I am convinced that the vast majority of people on this earth are not called to a worldly greatness, but to ordinary, day-in, day-out greatness of the daily practices of love and charity that radiate out.

Keep praying for our global leaders – they need it. And, begin today taking steps to cultivate peace in your corner of the world. It is truly part of your calling.