Grant Me Peace

The song titled, Prayer of Saint Francis begins with the lyric, “make me a channel of your peace”.  These words sound beautiful when spoken or sung, though when it’s time to put them into practice, they crash and burn.  Peace tends to be the unicorn of the world; something everyone wants and no one can find.

I recall learning of world religions such as Buddhism or Islam where those who practice the religion do so weaving prayer throughout their daily lives.  The goal is to work in peace, pray in peace and live in peace.  The slow routine of each day provides opportunity for prayer where they are mindful of the gift of life for themselves and give thanks for the things provided.

It’s as though the flow of the day is made easier because many who practice these religious beliefs live in communities where everyone is doing the same thing.  When your own personal routine is the same as those around you, then it is natural to participate.  For example, when I’ve been on retreat at a Monastery, or visiting a Convent, it is natural to begin the day gathered together for morning prayer.  It sets the tone for the day and you make plans to go back to the chapel throughout the day for noon, vespers and night prayers.  The practice, while on retreat is more natural but is quickly lost when not on retreat.

While on retreat, you are taken away from your daily stressors and allow yourself to slow down.  Most of the time 1-4 days is simply not enough time to find the amount of peace to carry you through until you can take another retreat.  Even people who take a weeklong vacation often come back needing a vacation to recover from the vacation.  At this pace, no one can ever catch up, you’ll always be running behind the pace car.

The rat race called daily life continues to move, faster and faster; or so it can seem.  After a little time away you can feel a bit rejuvenated and believe your ready to take on the world.  Then when your back, surrounded by work deadlines and family obligations, there is always something else you should be doing instead of praying or meditating so that peace you found is like that missing sock that gets sucked up by the dryer.

Even if you have the habit of stopping 4-5 times a day to pray, it’s often done without the reverent intention needed to gain the greatest benefit.  It takes a lot of discipline to be able to shut down your brain.  If your saying memorized prayer, it can roll off your lips without thinking.  If your reading a prayer or poem, the words you see on the page can become a long string of letters that never make it into your already full brain.  The habit of the prayer then has little benefit because it’s become just another thing to check of your to do list.

I think even those who are not practicing religion, have a hard time setting the intention and following through with finding a routine of cultivating peace.  There are apps that can send reminders to take a break or your watch can tell you when to breathe.  It is difficult work to carve out time to do nothing. 

Many doctors and health experts preach about the benefits of regular exercise.  There are more and more of them who are also recommending meditation and yoga practices because these are intended to focus internally, instead of externally.  Even the medical professionals are realizing the benefits to our bodies when we slow down our minds.  They may not be able to give you a pill but they are ultimately giving you a prescription for peace.

Just like anything in your life that is good for you, finding peace takes practice.  Just like when you are finding time to exercise your body, you should be giving equal time to give your brain a rest.  Perhaps it’s done in one 30 period of time during your lunch break at work.  It can be the first 15 minutes of your day and the last 15 minutes of your day.  Or you can set an alarm for every two hours and spend 5 minutes with your eyes closed, counting your breaths.

Peace can only be cultivated once you find it and peace can’t be found while driving carpool.  You’ve gotta be intentional about it because it is when you find peace that you feel the presence of God.  When Jesus visited the Disciples after he’d resurrected from the dead, his first words were “Peace Be With You” and these are the exact words you will hear when he welcomes you, as you find peace.