Can I ask "peace all over the world" as a birthday present?

This thought popped up in my mind this morning driving back home with a car full of groceries for my birthday party. The news on the radio was about everything except peace... and meanwhile dozens of sweet “happy birthday”messages appeared on my mobile.

As a kid I wanted to get my own horse as a birthday present. My plan was to make a stable in the garage and my dad could build a bridge over the ditch at the end of our backyard so I could ride in the meadow on the other side. At that time I was not able to understand and accept that this plan was not realistic.

And now, about 40 years later I am not willing to understand and I find it hard to accept that “peace all over the world”is not realistic today. Does the world not provide enough space for all of us to live together in peace, respect each other and at least do not hurt other human beings? People might find me naïve  and I don’t care...I really dislike it when people do hurt each other...no matter how.

Unfortunately I am less naïve than the little girl that wished for a horse in her backyard. So I do realize that my influence on “peace all over the world”is quit limited and that for sure it is not something you can get as a present. 

What I can do is “building bridges.  In my own environment I see struggles between persons who all sit save on their own island and judge about the others on the other islands. Facilitating a good conversation and some (self)reflection are my building blocks to realize these bridges. And when the bridges have been build the next challenge is to keep using them to continue the good conversations and work on mutual understanding.

So... this is my way to modestly contribute to the personal happiness and success of the people around me, making the (work) environment more pleasant and increase understanding and respect for each other ... that's a gift that I can give myself and others every day. And I also do that with great pleasure.

Every day can be a party full of presents and special encounters ... and that helps me to put the world news into perspective and put limited energy into it because I have no direct influence on it. I do what is possible in my own environment ... peacefully and with the best intentions ... to gladly make the world around me a little bit happier, brighter and more peaceful ... every little bit helps. Do you join?