May there be peace, peace, peace. (Buddhist prayer)                                                                                                                     May I be in peace; may I be peace. (me)                   

I know the blog has been quiet recently, but my life has not been quiet! The end of the school year always seems to bring a flurry of activity, tying up loose ends, bringing things to a close, and setting the stage for transition from one grade to another, one season to another …

Speaking of transition, my oldest son, A, is moving on to middle school! This transition moves a swell of feelings and thoughts in my heart, too … and in his.

But, even though the kids’ school year is drawing to a close, mine is not! Mine remains a steady flow of discussion posts, reading assignments, and research papers … and the hope and the rush to have as much as possible done before the days and hours are less quiet than they are while four munchkins are away at school.

And in all this, deep blogging inspiration has not visited often either …

So, the blog has been sitting on a back burner … not a cold burner,  just a gentle warm mindful simmer!

Now, you might be wondering what connection the quotes at the beginning have to do with anything so far! Here it is: these words, these prayers and intentions of peace, have been simmering in my mind while I’ve been busy.

Sitting with me when I sit, walking with me where I walk, going with me where I go. Present with me when I am reading, when I am meditating, when I am conversing, when I am hurting.

Specifically, the word ‘peace,’ the prayer and desire and intention for peace and to be peace, has been a gentle murmuring stream in my heart and mind throughout the busy-ness of these days. I’ve been holding on to these peace prayers as an anchor and a balm for my soul.

Because not only has this been a season of busy-ness, it has been of late a season of new and deeper spiritual questions, opportunities, sacrifices, changes, and choices … a time of inner struggle, discovery, pruning, growth. A valley season, perhaps. And valley seasons can sometimes feel so unsettling, so anxiety-making!

But in this valley runs a river of peace. That gentle murmuring stream that has been flowing through my days, through me. Bringing strength, bringing power, bringing rest even in the busy-ness, in the struggles.

And as I have sat and sought quiet in the swirl and swarm of busy-ness, of questions with hard answers or no answers, of intense, big feelings, often I have only been able to focus my attention on these words:

May there be peace, peace, peace.                                                                                                                       May I be in peace; may I be peace.

But it has been enough. Enough to help bring me to a center of stillness, or close enough to a center of stillness. Enough to leave within me that gentle murmuring stream, an echo of peace, of belovedness.

Enough to bring me strength and remind me that I am beloved.

Enough to help me remember to water the seeds of happiness within, to nourish the seeds of joy.

Enough to help me be present enough in my life, present with others, present with peace.

Enough to help me be mindful, even imperfectly. Imperfect mindfulness is still mindfulness! And imperfect mindfulness is okay, is enough. Enough to make a difference of peace, a difference of perspective, a difference of vision.

I have been astounded every time I step outside and the world seems so beautiful and bright, colors so vivid and intense, light so pure and clear. The green grass so green, the sky so blue and so boundless. And my heart becomes still and smiles. And I think, with wonder and awe, how can this be? In the midst of the rush of busy-ness, of challenge and struggle, of swirling questions, of deep hurts, how can this be? This sense of calm, this gift of beauty?

But I think it is the flowing and the flowering of these words coming alive for me, in me:

May there be peace, peace, peace.                                                                                                                      May I be in peace; may I be peace.

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My dear friends, may you too be in peace, may you be peace, whatever is in this season of your life. It is possible for peace and busy-ness, peace and change, peace and struggle, peace and pain to be present together!

And as we make peace and being peace our intention, we can be peace, peace within our own lives and relationships, and we can be peace in and for a troubled world.