“GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” Desiderata (By Max Ehrmann © 1927)
For today’s topic let us talk about PEACE anchored on the first three stanzas of the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.
Peace has been defined by the Merriam- Webster Dictionary as a state of tranquility or quiet, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions, harmony in personal relations and even used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting of farewell. In this topic, let us define peace in the context of the Max Erhmann’s Desiderata.
Peace is Silence. Peace is the absence of noise. It is the absence of chaos. It is the stillness of things. Nowadays, this kind of peace is something that is difficult to find. We have been constantly bombarded by noise – from the people around us, to the things that we have with us and even the beating of own our heart. Everything around us is noise. They are disturbing us that we are starting to forget the beauty of silence – the beauty of a minute of peace. And most importantly we forget to listen. It is only in silence that we can hear and listen to what the world is telling us, to what our own heart is telling us and to what the Lord Almighty telling us. It is only in silence that we can achieve the real essence of peace.
Have you listened to the silence? Have you achieved peace?
Here are my five ways to achieve silence and achieve peace:
- Be in good terms with yourself.
Accept that you are not perfect. You have flaws and imperfections. You can have mistakes. You have limitations. By accepting this, you can avoid being harsh to yourself. You can accept what you have and what you can’t have. Just simply love yourself a little bit coz nobody else can except you.
- Be in good terms with people.
Being in good terms with everybody is as much as possible to treat everyone well. Avoid hurting people. Be courteous. Don’t raise your voice. Control yourself especially your anger. Don’t speak hurting words. Don’t take revenge. Be kind.
- Be in good terms with your things.
You have been working hard to have the things that you have now and yet you have seen that a new version is out in the market and yours become old. You want to have the latest fashion, the latest version. These things are stressing you to work more. Why not take good care of the things you have now so that its utility will be maximized.
- Be in good terms of your past.
You might not have the most wonderful past. You might have been hurt and broken. You might not have achieved all your plans but then look at you now. You are a product of your past and yet you are given the chance to become better than you in the past. You are in your tracks toward a better version of yourself. So say thank you to the past. Don’t live there. Move on.
- Be in good terms with the Lord.
We have the most loving and forgiving God. He knows everything about us. There is nothing to hide, nothing to own as our own. We are created by God. Everything about us is already written by Him. So no matter what you are now He is just a prayer away. Go back to Him. He has the most unconditional love.
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Doctor in Development Education ( Dev. Ed. D.), an all time educator as School Head and HEI Instructor.
