Be at Peace to Work for Peace

A contemporary Buddhist monk from Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh, suggested that to work for peace it makes sense that one should be at peace.

I blurted out, in my last post, my hope of peace in the whole wide world. Honestly, I'm still trying to manage a little peace on a consistent basis inside my home's four walls. A thirteen-year-old that doesn't want to wake up in the mornings, and a wife with way too much to do to be trying to get him up for the third, fourth, fifth time is a recipe for a lot of dynamics, but not peace.

Trying to stay peaceful while she's waiting for consequences to be administered to the defiant teen can reasonably be construed as failing to support one's spouse. So, my serenity defense then led to a different state of emotion, but, again, not peace.

See, my plan was for everyone to keep their thoughts and develop a reasoned response for a calm evening discussion. Well with three in the talk it only took one to turn the plan into the confrontation.

Well, I kept my response below the level of actual violence, but my mood was absolutely not peaceful.

I don't want to disappoint the profound advice of Nhat Hanh, but I'll have to settle for working for peace while working toward peacefulness; at least, as long as there's still a teenager in the house. Otherwise, if I wait, the world may have to find peace without me.

Walking the walk while talking the talk; rather than, walking the walk before talking the talk.