Make a Habit of Peace

There is no new twist here, only a new choice. Perhaps the easiest decision is this: affirm “I will act from a peaceful heart all day today.” And then grade yourself. Feel good about every encounter where you remained peaceful. Forgive yourself for every time you failed, affirming your intention to do better the next time. Changing a bad habit isn’t that difficult if we make the new habit a simple one. Try being peaceful. ~ Casey, Karen. Each Day a Renewed Beginning (pp. 174-175). Mango Media. Kindle Edition.

“I will act from a peaceful heart all day today.”
The first challenge is to remember
this resolution before any act of the day.
Mine needs to come before the dogs wake me
or at least before I get up and open the door for them.
Then I need hold it in mind all day long,
before the television nudges my negativity,
before the dogs demand the door allow
ingress and egress when routine sets
another priority. But I need not change
Bear’s scratching the door
or Benji’s ramming it… “only”
my emotional reaction to the communication.
Then there’s another human in the house
fully as capable of pushing my exasperation point.
None of that precludes my determination to the truth
that “I will act from a peaceful heart all day today.”
I will forgive myself for every time I fail,
affirming my intention to do better the next time.
Repeating the intention and effort daily,
Peace will begin to be a habit.
I will try being peaceful long enough
for peace to become a habit!