I love everything about the Dalai Lama â€" his humility, his sense of humor, his joy. Each year I buy calendars for some friends, our team, and myself. The Dalai Lama's small desk calendar, with his daily wisdoms, is especially dear to me.
One of my favorite pages this year appeared on October 15/16. It read,
"Inner peace is the key: if you have inner peace, the external problems
do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility . . . without
this inner peace, no matter how comfortable your life is materially, you
may still be worried, disturbed, or unhappy because of circumstances."
Deep. It settled into my consciousness. Not an entirely new thought, just one I was ready to absorb, internalize. Yes, I reflected. Simple wisdom. It gave me peace in the moment, which has stayed, settled back in my consciousness.
A separate thought had appeared on September 27, one small sentence. "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." It made me laugh and appreciate the small realizations that can be packaged in humor.
I am happy. I am happy right now, not because everything is perfect, but because I am content and, yes, at peace with myself and my day-to-day life. I love getting up in the morning and spending a few hours with my husband, even if just watching and discussing the news before heading out to work.
The team I work with has become another family after so many years together. We like what we do and believe we do it well, admiring what each of us contributes to the whole. How fortunate we are.
At day's end, I am just as eager to return home. How lucky can a person be? I am at peace.
I know the peace is real because even when everything is not smooth and perfect, I am content, even happy. People get sick, some have died; I know we all have that ahead, whether sooner or later. Many struggle daily, and there is always sadness â€" sometimes close to us, sometimes far away. But today my world is good, and I look forward to each new day.
It took quite a journey to get here, and I will need to hold on to this peace. Being grateful for it is just the beginning.
The Dalai Lama is not too distant from Jesus, especially when we can feel peace. Let us not wait for others to claim peace for us â€" we have it within.
May we all experience the joy of today, this season, each other, and carry joy within our peace.
A separate thought had appeared on September 27, one small sentence. "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." It made me laugh and appreciate the small realizations that can be packaged in humor.
It took quite a journey to get here
and I will need to hold on to this peace.
Being grateful for it is just the beginning.
The Dalai Lama is not too distant from Jesus,
especially when we can feel peace.
Let us not wait for others to claim peace for us â€"
we have it within.
and I will need to hold on to this peace.
Being grateful for it is just the beginning.
The Dalai Lama is not too distant from Jesus,
especially when we can feel peace.
Let us not wait for others to claim peace for us â€"
we have it within.
I am happy. I am happy right now, not because everything is perfect, but because I am content and, yes, at peace with myself and my day-to-day life. I love getting up in the morning and spending a few hours with my husband, even if just watching and discussing the news before heading out to work.
The team I work with has become another family after so many years together. We like what we do and believe we do it well, admiring what each of us contributes to the whole. How fortunate we are.
At day's end, I am just as eager to return home. How lucky can a person be? I am at peace.
I know the peace is real because even when everything is not smooth and perfect, I am content, even happy. People get sick, some have died; I know we all have that ahead, whether sooner or later. Many struggle daily, and there is always sadness â€" sometimes close to us, sometimes far away. But today my world is good, and I look forward to each new day.
It took quite a journey to get here, and I will need to hold on to this peace. Being grateful for it is just the beginning.
The Dalai Lama is not too distant from Jesus, especially when we can feel peace. Let us not wait for others to claim peace for us â€" we have it within.
May we all experience the joy of today, this season, each other, and carry joy within our peace.
Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.