I can't say I'm a big fan of religion, but then again, I can still hear my mother playing "Peace Be Still" on the piano in preparation for her support of the local Baptist Church in our small town. It wasn't the church we were brought up in, but she went over there at least once a month and played these wonderful songs anyway, practicing throughout the week. So, it strikes me as more than funny that the original version of "Oh Happy Day," another song by the Rev. James Cleveland remains on my iPhone.

So, what I'd like to share with you today is the lyrics from that great James Cleveland song, "Peace Be Still," --lyrics I came to better appreciate today, while doing some work around the Katrina Project for Mediators Beyond Borders:

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be
No water can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and sky
They all shall sweetly obey thy will
Peace, peace, be still

There is no coincidence, and in the cleaned-up version of what my little sister always says "Stuff doesn't just happen!" But, just because we don't know, that doesn't mean we can't do anything to help the situation return to normal once the storm has moved on. We cannot predict with certainty what is going to happen to us from day to day. Even if we could, I'm not sure we should or what good it would do. What we CAN do, however, is plan to lessen the pain. Not because disasters or heartache or pain are something we failed to prevent, but because we know that these things happen. Stuff happens! So, what makes us different from our animal friends is that we have the ability to plan around horrible events. We have the ability to look at ourselves and know ourselves so that when we face adversity, we can come out of it better than if we just sat around and did nothing, waiting for the hammer to fall.

So, what I'm suggesting to you, My Friends, is that we plan for peace.

Dennis Kucinich is being laughed at because he's talking about a Department of Peace...and this is NOT a plug for his campaign, but it is most definitely a plug for the idea. This Big Idea is that we can PLAN for the peace, so that we may be still after something bad happens to us. Peace isn't the lottery! It's not good enough to say what we'll do when we win games of chance, knowing full well that we're not likely to "hit" big enough to make a real difference in our lives!

Why not plan for peace as if it's something we are OWED, a debt to be repaid. That way, the money we get back (or "win") really does belong to us anyway. How many times do people say, well, when I get back all that money I socked into the lottery, I'm going to do X, Y or Z...No, why not think of peace in terms of something that already belongs to us.

When it comes to the problems in our lives (be it the Ricky Williams or Don Imus clean up; the Katrina clean up; the Darfur, Somalia, Rwanda clean ups, and yes, the Iraq clean up to come), let's think in terms of recapturing the stillness of peace. The calm that we get from knowing we have done all that we could do to make life pleasant (not perfect, just pleasant) for our families and those around us. If we look at the problems we face in the world through the lens of community peace, then we get a lot closer to solving the problems we face. I LOVE the fact that the Jolie-Pitt Foundation got on NPR yesterday and promoted their "Make It Right" project to build homes for folks in New Orleans. They joined a growing crowd o people who think in terms of making things right, something the Hopi Elders have been encouraging us to do for *years* by asking us "Are you in right relation?" I believe that when we ARE in "right relation," it will be one of peaceful co-existence, not based in reduction of the beautiful values we all have and share as people of color.

As a mediator, I strive to support a peaceful frame of mind in my clients BEFORE I ask them to create peace between themselves. That way, they get clear on their needs and only ask as much of the other party as is needed to create a workable peace between them. Once that still place is achieved, they can go on an work together or apart without future mind-stopping conflict between them. The stillness that comes from being heard is what allows people to agree to resolve their disputes in ways that will truly work for them. When is the last time you went to court and got that feeling supported?

So, while so much of the Internet chatter is built around conflicts people have in their daily lives, let me be at lest one voice, here in this blog entry, that asks you to spend some time every day,--whether it be in prayer or not, finding a little bit of peace in your life that you can share with someone else through kindness, action or a smile.

Peace Be With You!