Peace of Inspiration: Part 6

Dear Friend in Peace,

If Mary Oliver had been alive in Helen Keller’s time and asked Helen: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Helen, who was blind and deaf by the age of 19th months, would likely have answered: “I will squeeze every ounce of joy, learning, good, and blessings for others out of this life that I possibly can. I will live in a way that helps change the world for the better and allows me to connect with all beings with love, compassion, and with peace.” And… she did!
Despite the massive challenges of Helen’s limited world, she became a distinguished and prolific author of 18 books, a tireless disability rights advocate, and a political activist focused on civil rights and women’s rights. Over the course of her life, Helen Keller took nine different global tours that spanned 39 countries on five continents. She was an international celebrity and pillar of wisdom and inspiration for millions.
Her profound commitment to community, to working together to solve problems and to speak up for others shows in her wise and timely words:

"We live by each other and for each other.
Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much."
- Helen Keller

Reading her words brings me hope, inspiration, and encouragement. Yes, Helen, together we can stand up for peace, for due process, for liberty and justice for all.
Here is another of her uplifting, inspiring affirmations:

"I do not like the world as it is; so I am trying to make it a little more as I want it."
- Helen Keller

Her words and life can serve as guides for us. Rather than complain about the actions of others, we can speak up for liberty, justice, and due process for all. Or, as Helen would say: “Make the world a little more as you would like it to be.”

While thinking about Helen, her life, her wisdom, her inspiration, I sat a while and simply listened to the silence. This is what I heard:
“My sincere desire is to help others find their way to peace. I wish others to sit in silence as I do, sit in darkness as I do, and discover the inconceivable blessings surrounding and enfolding us at every moment. I wish everyone to breathe in the blessings of love, of hope, of compassion, and of kindness, I wish everyone to breathe out fear, worry, anger, all that is not love. Let it go. It brings no joy, it brings no good, let it go…
I wish for all to live in a world of Light and Love knowing that Light and Love are found within each of us.
I wish for each of you to retreat often to your inner core and listen. Listen to the silence not just for a second, listen to the silence in darkness for 5 minutes or more and feel peace welling up within your heart. Listen to the inner peace that resides within you. The peace that you are.
Sit in the silence, in the peace, and open your heart to more peace and allow your peace to expand and grow and flow to others.
Send your peace to others so that they may feel peace, feel compassion, and feel love.”
Sit in this silence from time to time throughout the day. You will soon discover peace waiting for your arrival. Join me any time and sit in the peaceful, healing, loving silence.”

Thank you, Helen, I shall, and I suspect I will not be the only one sitting in silence, sitting in darkness, sitting in the presence of peace with you.

We too can show up, speak up for the rights of all, and remind everyone of the simple truth:
We love one another.

We can listen to Helen’s desire for us to experience peace throughout each day and adopt her practice of sitting in silence, sitting in darkness and allowing peace a home in our hearts throughout every day.

Thank you for choosing peace in your thoughts, words, and actions.
Yours in peace and love always,
Donna

P.S.  Please pass on the peace by sharing this post with friends and family. They can join this mailing list, by writing to me at donnadday@gmail.com