Peaceful Things

Gena Livings and GenaLivings.com published the following article several weeks ago. Gena is a health coach, author, and artist – truly a peaceful loving soul. Her art accompanies this article. Here is the link to her new art gallery. http://www.genalivings.com/store/

Peace is important – to enjoy life on planet earth – for all life on this planet to experience balance, harmony, acceptance, and love.

At some point in my life, I chose to turn away from chaos and live in peace. I wanted to feel physically calm and rebuke fear, worry, and anxiety and embrace the truth of who I am. I was not designed for chaos. I was not prepared for war. I was not created to live in fear. I was not intended to judge and criticize others. I am not programmed to hate and condemn. I was born to preserve life in all forms. I was created to love. My body is wired for joy, for happiness, for tenderness, to support, to comfort, to be kind and accepting.

Your body, every animal, plant, tree, fish, and fowl, is wired to survive and to experience life to the fullest. Every life form is born fully equipped to accomplish a harmonious and fulfilling life.

I choose to experience peaceful feelings inside my body and in my environment. I’m not calm and content all the time, but it is my goal to live from the heart virtues and the ethics they silently represent. It is my goal to learn, grow emotionally and spiritually, increase my empathy and intuition – to share what I learn. Self-acceptance and self-worth are at the top of the developmental list because they bring inner peacefulness which is the first step toward world peace.

What do you choose? What heart virtues to you want to incorporate into your life?

I know what it feels like to be left out, to be made fun of, to not have enough money for the grocery store. I know what it is like to grow the food that you eat and preserve fruits and vegetables for the winter months because you must. I know what it feels like to be so shy and fearful that I hide instead of participating. I also know what it feels like step out of my comfort zone and bare my soul through my writing. I enjoy being part of a meaningful conversation, living among loved ones, and collaborating within a tribe of beings who work to bring love and peace into the world, to be a teacher and a student.

How has your history contributed to your present? What have you overcome?

We don’t live among genetic family members or meet our soul tribe by accident. Within our tribe are like-minded, loving, peaceful, adventurous, activist, accepting members, some genetic family, who travel through time together. When we met again, we “knew” each other instantly and we share life for a moment or bonded for a lifetime. Others of our tribe are not in body, but traveling along with us in spirit, guiding us, teachings us, inspiring us, coaching us to wake up, stand up, and do the job we came into physical being to accomplish. We are not alone. We have our human companions and our spiritual friends, teachers, and confidantes. Together, alive and in a physical body and alive and in a spirit body, we combine to create a family with a peaceful mission.

What is your experience of meeting a new person and feeling you’ve known them your whole life? Have you identified your tribe of like-minded people?

When I think of individuals throughout history who are loving, inclusive, powerful, yet gentle – I think of the Dalai Lama and his lineage of awakened men of great spirit -of Joan of Arc and her angels – the Buddha contemplating the meaning of life and peacefully living under his tree. I think of the great yoga teachers who find peace through movement and breath. I think of Yeshua the Christ meditatively walking for endless miles barefoot, taking in the beauty and energy of nature, loving the Earth, showing kindness and compassion to everyone he met, teaching reverence for all life. I think of people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King who taught love and coexistence through peaceful action and Nelson Mandela who taught coexistence through forgiveness, positive interaction and cooperation. I respect John Lennon, and his songs Give Peace a Chance and Imagine and great philosophers and authors like Lao Tzu, Immanuel Kant, Jane Austin, Upton Sinclair and Paulo Coelho. I remember esteemed scientists and teachers like Albert Einstein and the countless, often unrecognized, women leaders who created positive change and helped to enlighten, teach and create: Women like Hypatia, Mary Magdalene, Hildegard of Bingen, Sojourner Truth, Florence Nightingale, Ann Frank, Amelia Earhart, Mother Teresa, Ada Ball, Virginia Apgar, and Jane Goodall. I honor the great artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci who taught through their glorious creations. I recognize and praise the enlightened indigenous leaders from around the world who for centuries have worked tirelessly to preserve wisdom, culture, and customs and to save the Earth’s land and the environment from destruction.

Who has inspired you to be your best self? Who is your greatest teacher? What people, places, and things motivate you and lead you into greater awareness?

Throughout history, great beings have walked the earth – here to awaken us, end violence and war, teach love and cooperation, to bring beauty and gentleness to all beings – to educate – to research and discover new scientific wisdom – to break racial and gender barriers so all can live as equals. I am grateful for those magnificent souls of past generations, of those here with us now, and for those who will work for peace and unity in the future.

In the words of John Lennon – Imagine, no greed and hunger – imagine a brotherhood of man with all the people sharing all the world.