Footprints

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on December 5, 2007

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men

“A life of peace begins with the simplest and most basic truth: We are all equal. Every human being is equal to every other human being. We are all sisters and brothers, all children of the God of peace. This vision is fundamental reality. All life is sacred.” – Jesuit John Dear

This is the holiday season. A season of “Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men”. While nations and politicians struggle to bring this about, it is evident from reading the news that those efforts have fallen short of their goal. There seems little that the individual can do to turn things around in the world, but within each of us is the seed to bring about revolutionary change.

Peace is often thought of as the absence of war. There is another kind of peace and that is one which resides inside the person. This kind of peace is an understanding that despite whatever conflicts may exist around us, we have the ability to see the goodness of life. If we can free ourselves from our desires and yearnings and find contentment in our current existence, we have that peace. Peace is earned by putting aside envy, greed and gluttony. It is accomplished by not needing to prove another wrong in order to show that we are right. It means pushing our egos aside and recognizing that we are all equal. Goodwill to men has little to do with gifting. Instead it is about treating our fellow earthlings as our brothers and sisters that they are.

This season is wrought with frantic activity. There is an abundance of consuming in order to in order to “get the right gift” and satisfy a child’s hunger to own something that was slickly advertised at him. This frantic activity lessons the peace within the shopper. It also feeds the conflict within the child when he realizes that owning the item does not bring satisfaction. He then mistakenly believes that if only someone satisfies his next yearning somehow inner peace will come about. Peace will not come to the child until he understands that he already has everything he needs to calm his soul.

These thoughts are not unique and certainly not meant as a criticism of those who love this season and partake in the act of giving. Sharing the season with friends and family need not be incompatible with keeping your own inner peace. Giving to others, especially the less fortunate, is a fine example of goodwill to men. Keeping in contact with old friends and acquaintances through Christmas cards is a good way to let others know that you are thinking about them. Sometimes those cards, while attempting to continue old contacts, tend to lose some of their individual charm when stuffed with an impersonal annual bragging letter, extolling all of the awards bestowed upon the family members and filled with every exotic vacation the family endured. That kind of letter rarely instills peace within the reader and sometimes promotes envy which causes further conflict. Better to keep the cards to wishes of a peaceful season and fond thoughts of their friendship.

We all might benefit by cutting back a bit on our activities during this season and concentrating on giving our time to those we love. Taking a few minutes each morning to see the blessings around us and find satisfaction with what we have been given can go a long way to keeping our inner peace throughout this season. It is simply a matter of wanting what we have rather than having what we want. Finding the peace within us will surely help us show goodwill to men. To all my readers; I wish you peace.

Budd Glassberg is a 23 year resident of Zionsville who works and volunteers in the community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.