The Secret to Family Peace
I discovered a secret to peaceful family life. I want to share it with you even though it is a secret. Perhaps you can share it with a few of your friends. Even if you choose to keep it our little secret, I think you will discover that this secret to a peaceful family life adds joy and contentment to your family. The secret comes in two parts. Ready? Here it is…the secret to a peaceful family: Seek peace and pursue it. Wait, don’t stop reading yet. I know it sounds like a trick. Too simplistic…just a gimmick. But take a moment and consider what it means to seek peace and pursue it.
First, seek peace. Have you ever misplaced something–maybe your cell phone, your glasses, or your favorite book? You know it’s somewhere in the house and you make an unending search for it. You retrace your steps. You think about where you might have left it. You look everywhere, even unlikely places like the refrigerator. You elicit the help of other family members. You may literally “turn the house up-side-down” until you find what was lost. You seek it out. Seek peace in the same manner. Search out and investigate family members to discover what will bring them peace and what will bring peace between you and them. Seek out information about the behaviors that create peace. Include the whole family in the search to find the behaviors, attitudes, and words that will bring peace. Through your seeking, you may find that speaking with kindness, practicing kindness, telling the truth, offering compliments, helping with chores, and other similar behaviors can create peace. Keep searching for more. Seek opportunities to speak these words of peace and to engage in these actions. Seek peace!
And second, pursue peace. Now that you have discovered some of the words and actions that lead to peace, pursue peace. Don’t just wait for opportunities to create peace, pursue them! Have you ever watched a child try to catch pigeons on the sidewalk? Or played a hearty round of “chase and catch” with your dog? Your dog jogs left and you follow suit. They back up and you pursue. They run to your right and you dive. You dart this way and that way in an effort to catch your dog. Wherever they go, you pursue. You invest energy, your whole body and mind in the moment, to pursue your dog. For your family’s sake, pursue peace in the same manner. Pursue peace with your whole self. Pursue those opportunities to show kindness. Pursue moments when you can speak words of kindness. If the opportunity for peace starts to pass you by, chase it down…dive on it and catch it. Don’t let an opportunity pass you by, take advantage of every opportunity for peace. Practice those words and deeds that lead to peace every opportunity you find…and pursue more opportunities.
Well, I guess the secret is out. To have a peaceful family, seek peace and pursue peace. One more thing—enjoy. Enjoy seeking for peace and those things that make for peace. Enjoy the pursuit of peace. Enjoy the rewards of living in the peaceful family that your actions and words will help create.