Have you ever heard that the 10 most empowering 2-letter words 
are: If It Is To Be, It Is Up to Me. When I heard first this, I wanted to change the last word so that it would indicate more inclusiveness.
So I changed this quote to If It Is To Be, It Is Up to…not Me, but ‘We’ which sounded grammatically incorrect, so I changed ‘We’ to ‘US’! Wouldn’t you agree that when we work together, we will accomplish more as a T.E.A.M, Together Everyone Achieves More!
As we look ahead to 2023, consider how Pope Francis’s replied when asked if he thought 2017 would be a good year. He calmly said: “It will be a good year IF we are good to one another.”
Now that 2022 is behind us and 2023 ahead of us, I think of all the happy times I have enjoyed throughout 2022 as well as the challenges with the covid fiasco.
While my ego may rationalize that I can’t influence potential criminals from committing crimes in the future, my spiritual half of me reminds me of Eleanor Roosevelt’s challenge: Women Need to Elevate Their Skills from a Domestic Level to a Social Level. And I added a P.S. to her statement: …especially women who have time to e.g. empty nesters like me or retired ladies vs ladies who are deep down on mothering!
Given most of us want peace, I feel Eleanor’s statement introduces an opportunity for each of us to assess how we can create peace in our own life far beyond our home and families. And hope, from a spiritual perspective, that what we do will ripple outward and, somehow, someday, someway, reach those who are – sadly – considering harming anyone else.
So, here are my suggestions for you to consider:
1. Think of the four areas of your life other than yourself: e.g. those you work with, loved ones, acquaintances (people you know but may not necessarily love) and Good Samaritan opportunities (helping total strangers in their time of need).
2. Think about someone in each of those areas that you may have rationalized why you haven’t made the effort to create peace with them. Then, consider the new Serenity Prayer, Grant me to serenity to accept the people in the world I cannot change, the courage to change the one person I can, and the wisdom to know It’s me!’ and think of some little ways you can begin to create peace with that person.
3. Then, Just Do It! Or, rather, CHOOSE to do whatever you can to create peace with that person whom you may not have been getting along with for some time and wait to see how the Law of Karma rewards you for your good choice!
4. Next, with each new day, move onto another person or situation and brainstorm on how you can create peace with that person. This is how we can put these 10 or 12 or 14 words into action to make 2019 one of our best years ever!
I believe there is a lot of love bottled up within all of us who want to have peace, but we may be waiting for the other person to take the first step. Don’t wait! Take that step and start the ball rolling toward more peaceful relationships in 2023!
Then, in return, you’ll see how you are *blessed back* many times more than the love you gave to someone else in their time of need. It’s simply seeing the Law of Karma in action.
Together, let’s make 2023 the best year ever by creating happiness in every way possible and hopefully prevent tragedies too from our choices to create good affecting others to do good!
