Living in Love; How I Work for Peace

The mini war in Fort Hood is no different than the bloody skirmishes over the past hundreds of years on dark Belfast street corners. This week's senseless killing in Texas is just like the random acts of violence in Indian marketplaces and tech parks, where bombs take the lives of innocents. Wherever, whenever we hear of such shootings, our hearts ache over the insanity of it all...the families ripped apart, the holes torn in the lives of mothers, wives, children, husbands, fathers.

Hearing of this latest carnage, I again ask, "What can I do?"

After tears and prayer and silent sadness, I find comfort and direction in the same answer that has propelled me forward for many years:

I must live in love, be the presence of kindness wherever I am. We need to resist the urge to argue ourselves into separate polar positions. What value can come from our black and white views....keeping us from finding common ground and peaceful compromises?

Last Wednesday, we held a formal dance at the little health care facility I work in; an evening of live music and dancing. Three local businesses donated fancy gowns and suits for anyone who wanted to get dressed up. We had a ball!

My dear husband Thurmond wore his tuxedo and danced with the ladies, including me. We all had a great time, and offered up our evening of happiness as a small gesture to help tip the world back in balance. Making peace seems more important than ever, doesn't it?