cultivating peace

St John Cassian talks to us about peace today in A Year with the Church Fathers.

He gives us good and practical advice in how to get along with others... even those who aren't friends of peace. Even the animals, he says, will live in peace with us when we truly find how to live peacefully.

My lessons lately definitely seem to be focused on peace and patience. Especially when I'm driving, I find myself being given many opportunities to learn peace and patience. One very practical thing I've learned is to leave a little earlier than I need to in order to arrive on time. When I leave exactly 20 mins before I need to be somewhere, and that place is 20 mins away, I needlessly fret and worry about traffic "slowing me down". I get angry at other drivers and I am not patient or peaceful. But if I leave a little early, then even if traffic is slow or someone isn't paying attention and so they don't "go" immediately, I can be patient with them.

Building a little cushion into our lives, whether it's financial, temporal, or relational, gives us the grace we need to practice patience and share peace with others that we meet along the way on our life's journey.

God, thank You for teaching us practical ways to find Your peace.