Monday 4 November 2013

Dona Nobis Pacem 2013 ~ Believe

My blogblast message this year is a very different one... I never wrote it. This year, for the first time, I didn't have a clue what to say.

And Mimi even set a theme this year, to make it easier. She said:

"What Do I Want My World To Look Like?"




Oh boy... :-\ The more I sat and thought about that the less I knew what to write. Let's face it, this has not been an easy year for our planet. Oh there have been good stories and moments of wonderful kindness happening out there, but those stories are usually tucked away in difficult to find places. The main news media blares out the ongoing grim failures of mankind and there have been plenty of those in 2013. Fukoshima, simmering wars, greed and selfishness, festering political rivalries, cruel budget cuts, bickering, bullying, poverty and pollution. :-(













    I know exactly what I want my world NOT to look like!




But what do I want? And how do we create it? I was stumped. In desperation I decided to ask a friend for ideas and he sent me his thoughts. He's a special friend, one I trust deeply. I knew he'd have thoughts worth sharing and he did not disappoint me.

Here's what he had to say:
"Dona Nobis Pacem ... (may God) grant us peace.
They are beautiful words, but entirely wrong. It was never up to God to grant Peace since it never was God who took peace away from mankind. For far too long we have watched in growing agony as mankind begs for peace, prays for peace and all the time forgets that the power to create peace always lay within his/her own hands. Peace is not a gift to be given by God to mankind, it is a natural birthright of every child. It is already within your hearts and in ready reach of your hands. You are the ones who forget your own power as you grow and the suffering of this world overwhelms you. It was never up to God, it was always up to you.

Your world sits at a crossroads and you are the ones who must choose which direction it takes. All the prayer in the world cannot save you from your own selves, only you can do that. It does not have to be anything more than one gesture, one small forgiveness instead of an angry word. Peace starts small, like a seed. Let it grow naturally inside you and don't be afraid to use it as it grows. It is stronger than it looks, fuelled by love and constantly watched over by whatever you choose to call God. It will grow and it will prevail, but only if you stop looking outward for your answers and turn to look within. You will not find God's grace in prayer, you find it each time you hold out your hand to another living being, in kindness or compassion.

Until mankind realises that every life is equal in the eyes of God there truly cannot be Peace on Earth. All life is equally precious, an eagle is no more or less than a mosquito. A human living in Africa is no more or less than another living in Asia or Europe. No religion, no gender, no political party holds the key or stands higher than the next. There is only one world you have to live upon and yet what do you do? You fight over so many stupid things and find so many reasons to hate each other. Even those of you who swear you follow the paths of peace will admit in your hearts to feeling superior to someone else you know, whether it is through enlightenment, education or financial superiority. It does not matter. It never did. It never has. It never will. You were born perfect and you will die perfect. In between is up to you."

I'm figuring you might have read some of that and been a little puzzled. Especially as to why he wrote about watching mankind? You see, the dear friend who wrote that is my spirit guide. You might call him my guardian angel, really. :-) I've known him for over ten years now. I see the words he speaks in my mind, or images. This time he kept the words nice and slow, so I could write them down as he gave them to me. I normally don't share what he has to say, since it's usually personal and only meant for me. I prefer it that way and so does my guide, 'Sol'. He's a modest kind of guy, but he has strong opinions, as you can see! ;-)

He's right though - this is our responsibility. God created the world perfect. We're the ones who came in and messed it up and it is up to us to fix it. With God's help perhaps, but it is still up to us. 

So what do I want for my future world? 

I want a world where people claim back personal responsibility.

 
 Where people don't blame their neighbour, the other country, the opposing political party or another religion for the world's problems. This is OUR world, regardless of who we are, where we are, what version of God we worship in or what language we speak. OUR world and OUR responsibility.


It's a new dawn. We can choose to greet it together, in joy and hope, or keep on pointing fingers until the world is completely destroyed.


I know what I'm choosing...



36 comments:

  1. Great post and I absolutely L.O.V.E. your PeaceGlobe!!

    Peace to you and yours. x

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  2. Excellent message and very creative post. Peace to you and yours.

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  3. om shanti, shalom, salaam, peace, peace, peace.

    Please consider yourself officially invited to participate this year's 5th Annual Gratitude (word) Quilt. Instructions (it is very simple) and a link that explains the origin of the word quilt can be found at the top of my blog. In past years there have been participants from every continent except Antarctica. I hope you'll join us:-)

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  4. I really like what you have to say here. It is OUR world and OUR responsibility. Peace and blessings.

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  5. LOVE this...there's just one thing I've experienced, though...about what Sol has said...I believe that prayers do work and that God has granted me peace beyond understanding - even when the situation around me hasn't changed. I believe that sometimes God mysteriously grants us that peace when we ask for His help. So I still believe in finding God's grace in prayers even when all around me is bleak.

    Anyway, I think your peace globe is like a cover of a book, you know? I'm always amazed at the images you've created (either through visual images or the images I get from your words). You're a really talented lady and I'm honored to call you my friend. :-D

    To be honest, I myself almost didn't write anything because I was so confused with all the many thoughts in my head - I also felt "discouraged" to write about peace when there are so many discords and tragedies in life...he he he he he...

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  6. So well written and beautiful. You have truly captured everything I would wish for the world to be, but I could never have said it so eloquently. :)

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  7. Very good post ! It's so true nobody should pray for peace, peace should be everywhere !

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  8. What a beautiful day as we all come together in Peace.

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  9. Akelamalu

    Thank you. :-)

    Peace to you and yours too.
    ~~~~~
    Hi Driller

    Thank you and best peace wishes to you.

    ~~~~~
    Laura

    Oh thank you! I have taken a look at your older quilts and I love the idea. I would love to take part. :-)

    ~~~~~
    Hi Dawn

    Thank you. :-)

    ~~~~~
    (((Amel)))

    You say such lovely things. Thank you. I'm honored to call you my friend too. :-))

    And what Sol said... Oh no, prayer does work! He was meaning how some people always either blame God for our (world) mistakes or sit back and do nothing saying it's up to God to fix it.

    Otherwise you are totally right - God always answers prayers, in one way or another. We are always watched and loved. :-)

    ~~~~
    Tami

    Thank you very much. :-)

    ~~~~
    Gattina

    Thank you. :-)

    ~~~~~
    Sue

    Thank you. :-)

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  10. Hi Me-Me

    Yes, it is. :-) Thanks for stopping by.

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  11. Love the graphic. And the message.

    (Had to come back twice trying to get past your word verification. It's hard for many bloggers to decipher it, even with a magnifying glass.)

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  12. Jan

    Thanks. And yeah, I hate blogger's word verification. Why they make it so small! I sometimes go through about three or four. Unfortunately, without it the spammers run rampant.

    I use Firefox, so I just increase the page size with the + sign when I want to reply on a blogger blog. ;-)

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  13. We've seen your comments to our friends and decided to stop by on our tour of peace globes. Lovely peace globe; wonderful message. Peace out!

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  14. What a beautiful Peace Globe! It's stunning. And thanks for your message, too.
    Peace.
    GG

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  15. Beautifully said, by both of you.

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  16. A beautiful, refreshing different post. So love the intimacy you share with your spirit guide and welcome his spirit each day in your life. Responsibility for our own personal peace is an essential first step.

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  17. Peace to all living things...
    http://mcguffysreader.blogspot.com/2013/11/dona-nobis-pacem.html

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  18. That is a beautiful globe and a great post.

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  19. Really enjoyed your post and learning about your spirit guide. Pretty interesting, as I'm a person who gets animal totem messages constantly and have long considered the panther to be my personal totem. LOL! Maybe not so much...?

    It's hard to for humans to stop acting like humans, with all of our shortcomings. Yet, it doesn't hurt to have the higher goal of holding peace so dearly within our hearts that we seek it out despite everything. Happy Peace Day, Michelle.

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  20. I love your peaceglobe! Great post too. :)

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  21. Well dang. I wonder what would have happened if you had known what to write. "wink"

    As always, your words inspire and enlighten.

    Peace to you and yours on this and every day.

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  22. A fantastic post! May peace be with us all

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  23. How true that the "good stories and moments of wonderful kindness happening" are buried below the chaos. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Wonderful message <3
    PEACE , LOVE and UNDERSTANDING !!
    P.S You wonder wich language it was on my blog. It´s swedish :)

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  25. Hi Keisha

    Thanks for stopping by, I missed your lovely peace post. :-)

    Purrfect peace to all furkind.

    ~~~~~
    Goodnight Gram

    Thank you very much. :-)

    ~~~~~
    Rose
    Peace to you too. :-)

    ~~~~~
    Hi Cate

    Thank you (from both of us) :-D
    x

    ~~~~~
    Gemma

    Yes, I am very blessed.

    :-)

    ~~~~~
    McGuffy Ann

    Thank you for your link. :-)

    ~~~~~
    Hi Flynn

    Thank you! :-)

    ~~~~~
    Julia Phillips Smith

    How nice to meet a kindred spirit through blogblast. :-) Yeah well.. in my case my elephant turned out to be a LOT more, but I do get the odd message from animal totems that seem to truly be animal. My ellie was always very cartoonish. I should have guessed there was something odd about that, but i'm a slow learner! ;-)

    Happy Peace Day to you too. Heck, take a whole bunch of Peace days, we need more than one!

    ~~~~~
    Hi Tink

    So nice seeing you. :-) and thank you. x

    ~~~~~
    Hey Trav! :-D

    You made me laugh and feel all smiley inside with that reply. Bless you. Take a ((hug))

    ~~~~~
    Paula

    Thank you very much. :-)

    ~~~~~
    Jean Michelle Culp

    We need reminding more of the good out there.

    Peace blessings to you.

    ~~~~~
    Kjelle

    Ah Swedish! Thank you. :-)

    <3 and peace to you.

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  26. Wow, what an enlightening piece for peace. I'm uncomfortable with peace too because I am not a passive person and sometimes when people talk about peace it is to silence the nagging thoughts and words that must be said.

    I am for truth. Peaceful or not.

    Have a peaceful and meaningful week!

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  27. Thank you Lui

    You are so right - peace is not the same as being passive. Sometimes peace needs you to stand up and say, "No, this is wrong."

    Best peace blessings to you too. :-)

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  28. Travis Cody said you had a fantantastic rpeace globe an yes it is indeed! Dona Nobis Pacem.

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  29. Thank you Mike

    And gosh... thank you to Travis as well. That is high praise to be recommended. :-D

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  30. What a great post, Michelle. Big words, big dream… but there will always be hope. Peace should begin with us.♥

    Thanks for checking my post.

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  31. Michelle, Michelle, Michelle!!

    Every word spoken to you and written through you resounded with my heart and soul. Thank you for trusting your Guide and thank you even more for sharing this wisdom with us. I struggled with this year's post myself, as did many others... and yet, we find that we grow as a community and as individuals each time we contemplate and blog, write, pray, draw, sing, whatever, for peace.
    This post humbles me.

    You are amazing.
    Your peace globe is unbelievable! We trudge on and we never ever stop.

    Love,
    Mimi

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  32. Very beautiful and insightful post. I found myself nodding in response.I'm choosing with you to greet the world together, in joy and hope, without pointing fingers about whose at fault. Dona Nobis Pacem, dear Michelle. Sorry for this very late visit, because I'm spending my time more offline these days. Thanks for your lovely words on my post.

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  33. Hi Mimi

    Sorry I took so long to respond. I've been busy. ((hug))

    Hi Rosidah
    I understand. I've not blogged much myself this past year.

    wishing you a very peaceful and happy 2014

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