Let Peace begin with me

I went to church today, it's a holy day and so my husband kind of expected it. Frankly, I go to church so that I can sing up in the choir loft. There's a gem up there... our organist who has played in our church for decades. I want to enjoy every minute of his music while I can. It seems so effortless, and it's so beautiful. He's kind and funny and if he doesn't give up smoking, well, he'll leave even sooner someday ... I will miss him. I'm "storing up" little memories of him.

The cantor who sings with him has been friends with him for at least a couple of decades. I enjoy their little banter that comes from such a lasting comraderie. She'll hand me a piece of music and say "Can you sing alto on this?" Half the time, my response is, don't know, we'll give it a try! I did fairly well with the first one today, and the organist was smiling his approval. "Hey, you should join a choir."

Later, singing about Peace begining with me.... I thought, that's where it HAS to start. You have to put the past behind you, forgive yourself for your mistakes and less-than-saintly deeds. Find peace for yourself, and then you can give it to the people around you. So my "resolution", if I have one, is to make peace with that little voice in my head that says "you should have.... why did you...."

The quirky thing about resolutions is that so many people make the same ones every year. They do exactly the same thing, and are surprised when the result comes around once again.

Try something new this year. Be nice to yourself. Take care of yourself so that you can be strong and happy and spread that to the people around you.

Cheers!