PEACE
[This essay appeared nearly 10 years ago--and I find it has as much to tell us now as it did then.]
I've chosen a word to live by to finish out the year. That word is PEACE.
Over
40 years ago I taught freshman composition to college freshmen. Our
course started with a descriptive essay; continued into
compare-and-contrast; and toward the end we advanced to the extended
definition. It was one of the hardest to teach and one of the hardest to
learn.
The
extended definition essay attempts to go beyond the dictionary's
pared-down list of meanings and asks the reader to enter into the
writer's concept. We used examples from our lives, from books, from
whatever experiences we could muster.
One way to define a concept is to tell what it is not.
My trusty Merriam Webster lists these things about PEACE:
- absence of war or strife
- freedom from quarrels and disagreement
- to remain silent
- peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
Still another way to look at PEACE deals with our actions; here's a quotation from the late Henri Nouwen, Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian:
- Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.
-If we have no peace. it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Peace be with you.
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