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photo by: James B. Burton

Peace Pilgrim…..Have you heard of her?  She spent her life sharing peace with others. She walked over 25,000 miles all over the U.S. and into Canada and Mexico on a personal pilgrimage to share peace with others.  Peace Pilgrim truly understood what peace is.

I would like to thank my friend, Stephen Hopson, for pointing me in the way of Peace Pilgrim.  I was not aware of her life or what she stood for until Stephen brought her to my attention.  Apparently, he noticed some kind of correlation between us. ;)

Peace Pilgrim taught several steps to inner peace.  Today, I would like to share with you her message and four preparations of inner peace.

Peace Pilgrim’s Message

MY MESSAGE: My friends, the world situation is grave. Humanity with fearful faltering steps, walks a knife-edge between complete chaos and a golden age, while strong forces push toward chaos. Unless we, the people of the world, awake form our lethargy and push firmly and quickly away from chaos, all that we cherish will be destroyed in the holocaust which will descend.

This is the way of peace: Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.

The Golden Rule would do as well. Please don’t say lightly that these are just religious concepts and not practical. These are laws governing human conduct, which apply as rigidly as the law of gravity. When we disregard these laws in any walk of life, chaos results. Through obedience to these laws this frightened, war-weary world of ours could enter into a period of peace and richness beyond our fondest dreams.

Four Preparations

1. Assume right attitude toward life

Stop being an escapist or a surface-liver as these attitudes can only cause inharmony in your life. Face life squarely and get down below the froth on its surface to discover its verities and realities. Solve the problems that life sets before you, and you will find that solving them contributes to your inner growth. Helping to solve collective problems contributes also to your growth, and these problems should never be avoided.

2. Live good beliefs.

The laws governing human conduct apply as rigidly as the law of gravity. Obedience to these laws pushes us toward harmony; disobedience pushes us toward inharmony. Since many of these laws are already common belief, you can begin by putting into practice all the good things you believe. No life can be in harmony unless belief and practice are in harmony.

3. Find your place in the Life Pattern.

You have a part in the scheme of things. What that part is you can know only from within yourself. You can seek it in receptive silence. You can begin to live in accordance with it by doing all the good things you are motivated toward and giving these things priority in your life over all the superficial things that customarily occupy human lives.

4. Simplify life to bring inner and outer well-being into harmony.

Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. Many lives are cluttered not only with unnecessary possessions but also with meaningless activities. Cluttered lives are out-of-harmony lives and require simplification. Wants and needs can become the same in a human life and, when this is accomplished, there will be a sense of harmony between inner and outer well-being. Such harmony is needful not only in the individual life but in the collective life too.

Your turn: Have you learned anything that you can apply to your life from these words of wisdom by Peace Pilgrim?

~ I would like to thank the Peace Pilgrim website for providing this information.  The site is full of all kinds of information about her and her life.   A free book is even available by clicking here.  (I just ordered one myself and am looking forward to it’s arrival.  (Thanks Bruce! and thanks for a great conversation.) )