Life Patterns

Week 7, Day 2: little bit of peace

by Angela Renkoski

I have to be short today because this is my morning to volunteer to read at a nearby elementary school. I’m very excited because today we’re reading Christmas picture books. And, I’ve already been to Curves, and I actually think I’m experiencing a tiny rush of energy. Is it possible there are some endorphins lurking around this carcass that still can be ignited?

I’m having a moment of clarity too. I read the following line from A Course in Miracles in a whole new way today: “It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.” Now I know I’ve been working on my inner state and finding Self and love myself first so others will love me, but my actual focus has been on having external circumstances change so I could feel better. I did manage to interpret this as, if the external changed, I would know I had changed internally. But most of my angst comes from feeling unable to impact external circumstances. Because my mind is not a place of peace and I add to the unpeacefulness in my attempts to escape that, which only makes me see the world as unpeaceful, and round and round I go. So my practice for today is “I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.” Trust me; there are lots of situations for me to practice this all day long. I hope I remember.