Wear Purple for Peace Day

Today is Wear Purple for Peace Day.  Emma didn’t want to be left out, so here she is all dressed up in her purple butterfly wings, which I must say she seems to like much more than her raincoat.  She has also promised to be good and not get into anything while we’re at work today, so we can have a peaceful evening, since she wants to contribute to a peaceful world as well. 

So that brings me to contributing to a peaceful world, since wearing purple (which I think is a great color) isn’t going to suddenly make the world a peaceful place.  Very few of us are in the position to do something like end a war, stop child abuse, or reduce the general crime rate, but we can all contribute to making the world a more peaceful place.

Wikipedia defines peace as “a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict.”  It also goes on to mention that peace is characterized by justice, goodwill, and respect, or an absence of disturbance or agitation.  Those are things that we can all contribute to in our daily lives, though it may not always be our natural inclination.

We can all treat others with respect and goodwill; whether this means saying “please” and “thank you”, treating the person at the McDonald’s drive-thru like a real, important human being, not trying to bully our way into a better parking space, or not breaking in line.  Sure, it sounds really simple, but imagine how great your day would be if everyone you came into contact with treated you with respect. 

Here’s hoping everyone has a very peaceful day.