Today's Theme: Waxing and Waning

Follow your personal rhythm of peace.

Join with others in the rhythm of peace community and use today’s theme to cultivate peace in your life.

The following text is from the book Rhythm of Peace: Cultivating Peace in Daily Life. There are 30 themes, one for each day of the month. This book is an outreach and community-building tool for the Rhythm of Peace Project, and offers a simple support structure for making peace a priority in our busy lives.

(Photograph for today's theme by Laurent Lavender.)

It’s the middle of this month’s cycle of the rhythm of peace—a good time to pause.

Each of our various interests has a rhythm. There are periods of intense activity and participation that cycle with times of disengagement and pulling back. So it is with peace. Influenced by personal circumstances, as well as by what’s going on in the world, our involvement in cultivating peace ebbs and flows. Sometimes energy and participation are high. At other times, attention is focused elsewhere.

One of the objectives of the Rhythm of Peace Project is to support individuals and groups in sustaining their efforts for peace over the long term. To be successful in this requires an acceptance of the natural waxing and waning of interest and engagement in all our activities.

The value of uniting our efforts with others who care about peace is that we won’t all be waxing or waning at the same time. Some of us are very active and enthusiastic in our efforts to cultivate peace this month. Some are more focused on other important life interests and challenges. Such is the nature of cycles. There’s room in the commitment to peace for the rising and falling tides of energy and momentum. This is natural. We don’t need to sustain our commitment to peace at the same level every day. By linking our efforts, the rhythm of peace remains strong and steady for all.

Today's theme invites a reflection on your own rhythm of cultivating peace in your life. Is it waxing or waning?

If your focus on peace is waning today, stay connected with others. Let the rhythm of peace support you for awhile. Its influence will help you keep peace alive in your awareness while you’re focused on other things.

If your momentum for peace is strong and you’re very active this month, you’re contributing to the vitality and stability of the rhythm of peace for everyone. Your enthusiasm will encourage and inspire others, and your efforts are sincerely appreciated.

The tides will change from month to month for each of us. This we can accept with compassion. Peace will gradually grow in our lives as we allow our efforts and participation to ebb and flow with everything else that’s important to us. This way, peace finds a natural home in daily life and gently influences everything we do.

View all 30 themes.

Check back tomorrow for a new theme!