It's Peace Tuesday!

This day is your opportunity to celebrate Peace, to be Peace, to offer Peace and bring Peace to your life, to the lives of others and to the world. You can bring little piece of Peace or a big, whopping chunk of it, whatever. You get to choose!

I have a Peace offering for you today. I had the privilege of hosting a guest from Africa this weekend who has dedicated her life to working for Peace in her country and on the planet. I hosted Awa Ndiaye from Senegal and was honored to attend a dinner at which women from around the world met, all of them dedicated to bringing Peace and prosperity to their countries.

They were all participants in the Global Women's Leadership Network at the University of Santa Clara. School of Business. Check them out at www.scu.edu/business/gwln/ I heard stories from all over the third world about women creating their own project or working for NGOs (non governmental organizations) to transform the lives of poor women through education, environmental protection and microfinance.

So, please know that there are dedicated women, intelligent, well educated and trained, working with intention and purpose, to transform their countries and transform the economic status of the poorest women so there can be Peace and prosperity for all in the world. I encourage you to check out the website and see a few of the beautiful faces I saw this weekend. I was completely inspired by the possibility that these women represent for our planet. They are up to nothing less than transformation - transforming individuals, environments and governments, joyfully, patiently and lovingly. I am still walking on air having heard their inspiring personal stories and what they have accomplished. As one of the women blessed our dinner she asked that "we all love each other and know Peace". That said it all.

And if that's not enough inspiration for this Peace Tuesday, I invite you all to visit the website for the American Friend's Service Committee. They have been around as an organization working for peace for eons. Originally established by the Quakers, but now with many members of various faiths and philosophies, they publish an electronic newsletter covering their many projects for Peace around the world. I don't know about you, but it supports me to remain committed to Peace if I know that others are also committed to it! So, check them out at www.afsc.org. While you are there you can sign up for updates or the newsletter. AND you can make a contribution if you are so inspired!

Which brings me to a new way to make a difference and support Peace today. And it's something I did. this morning. It was absolutely painless! You can go to any nonprofit website and make a donation in someone's name, as a birthday gift, a wedding gift, an anniversary gift. Everyone I know has so much stuff they hold garage sales and then give stuff away. They do this annually! We are blessed with more material riches than we really need to be happy and satisfied. What is missing for many of my friends and family, is deep satisfaction and connection that comes from giving and being of service. So, from now on I am giving them the deeply satisfying gift of a donation in their name to an organization working toward Peace in the world! And that's what they are getting for Christmas as well. No more stuff to throw out, try to sell or give away in 5 years. Instead they get the gift of making a difference in one of the many places where $25.00 will make an enormous difference.

So, consider taking on my new practice! Give gifts of donations to worthy causes, at least to those folks who would appreciate you doing so, and who already live in abundance. You can even give the gift of a pledge to match other donations, if you want to play a really big game. I knew someone who did that for a friend's wedding. Instead of giving them a $300.00 kitchen appliance, they donated money to an environmental organization to match gifts given by other invitees!

Lastly, I always leave you with a book or video recommendation. The book I recommend this week is the not so big life by Sarah Susanka (the small type in the title is on purpose). She is a coach and an architect and writes about designing your life as you would a house, with sufficient or abundant room for what you need to be satisfied and inspired, but not so much that your house and your life is overwhelmed and unworkable. AND I recommend you go to TED.com for inspiring videos. Check out Ben Zander talking about what it takes to be inspired OR view the video of Jill Bolte Taylor talk about the stroke she had and now it confirmed her sense that our physical separation is an illusion, a function of how our brains function.

If you are receiving this blog it is because I love you and intend to contribute to Peace in your life and mine. If you do not want to receive this blog (I promise I will love you anyway) please reply to me at darbat@earthlink.net or leave a comment in the section titled "comments" at the end of the blog.

Love,

Darlene