Peace in Your Day—–And Mine
I was on my way somewhere in the car and was at a stop sign. The light was red. I was going to go straight and the car facing me on the other side was going to turn left, so I had the right-of-way. The light changed, I started forward slowly, and she whipped in front of me.
I stopped and said out loud—”My turn, really,” then smiled at the rear of her car steaming down the road “Peace in your day.” I went forward and as I continued to smile to myself, I thought “And peace in my day, too.”
I thought it was a learning—to let the irritation roll off my back, and I also thought, “Oh, I can post this.”
A few weeks later I went to a meeting, and got majorly bent out of shape. I stewed for a couple of days, and then my story of “peace in your day” came floating back to me. And now I thought “Whew! How much easier it is to wish the peace with a stranger—than it is in the middle of a meeting with people I see again and again.”
AND how elusive the peace for myself then is. In the long run, it wasn’t an earth-shaking thing to be upset about, plus it wasn’t worth a few days of stewing. It’s a double learning. Sit there at the stoplight. As she turns in front of you, say the words—it really was my turn—and then follow it, follow it each time with: peace in your day. Do it at the stop light and do it in the meeting and do it in all those places where the reaction bubbles up.
Peace in your day. And peace in my day. Really!
