Pursuing Peace

We have a joke in our family where my sister and I always give each other the peace sign behind my dad's back. You see, when we were little (in the early 70s) flashing the peace sign was just as bad as saying a curse word. My father had some very strong opinions about hippies and the peace movement back then and didn't want his little girls showing any signs of following that path.

After hanging out with my sister last weekend, I learned a lot about an initiative that she has been volunteering with called The Peace Alliance. This grassroots movement has great ideas about establishing a Department of Peace (which ironically was first pursued by George Washinton's administration). And there is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 808) to create this Department of Peace.

As I've been thinking about the whole idea of peace this week, I've come to several conclusions:

• it really takes a lot of time and energy to work for peace... it doesnt just happen...

• peace isn't just about international conflict and situations out of our control... its how we handle situations at work and in our relationships

• being a peacemaker doesn't make us flakey or "airy-fairy"... its an ancient and beautiful idea