Let Peace Begin with Me

Recently we went to Epcot and enjoyed watching The Candlelight Processional. This is a beautiful show involving a celebrity narrator telling the story of the birth of Jesus and includes many songs performed by a talented live orchestra and choir. Watching this show is one of our favorite Christmas traditions to do while living in the theme park capital of the world. Unlike most years, something happened during show that got me quite emotional.

(photo from Disney's website)

Towards the end of the performance, they sing "Let There Be Peace on Earth" which is one of my favorite songs of this season. It has always inspired hope and joy in me before, but during this show I started crying.

I was suddenly overcome with emotion about how little peace there is in the world. I had visions of the war in Ukraine, mass shootings, nasty comments on social media, news of people committing suicide, loved ones arguing, and financial hardship that many people experience. It made me very upset to listen to this beautiful song (both in meaning and in how it sounds) and feel it was very far away from reality.

I was thinking about how it's so hard to understand why people can be so cruel to each other, and then I realized it's right in the lyrics:

"Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me".

That's the problem.

Most people do not have peace within themselves, so how can they put peace out into the world? People who are deeply stressed and upset can easily "go off" on people in public when something doesn't go their way. They have a short fuse, because they are internally at odds. People who do not have peace within themselves often act out in harm, which can result in crimes or tense situations.

If we are more at peace with ourselves, we can be more at peace as a community, as a state, as a country, as a society of human beings. In order to increase the peace on Earth, we must first find true peace within ourselves. This is why we need more mindfulness in our lives. We need more moments of quiet, more moments to slow down, more moments to reflect instead of reacting.

Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.