On This Day After the Winter Solstice

On this day after the Winter Solstice, there is more light than darkness.

Every day at noon, the alarm on my wristwatch beeps a reminder to pause and pray for peace. It is not the glorious sound of church bells ringing across the countryside, but it works. The Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast, introduced me to the ritual in his book, The Music of Silence: Entering the Sacred Space of Monastic Experience. And because I have learned from other favorite authors that I must pray first for myself—learn to care for myself—before I can be of help to others, I begin my ritual with a prayer that I might find balance between the clamoring commotion of my mind and the musical lyrics of my heart. And then, I pray that I might be at peace with you—our family and friends, with our neighbors, and all with whom I come in contact. I pray that there might be peace in our community, in our state, and now, more than ever before, I beg that we find peace within our country. Maybe if every person on the planet paused each day to say a prayer for inner peace, maybe someday there might be peace across the planet.