On a weekly podcast from Sounds True, the Rev. Deborah L. Johnson writes:
“We say we want a world living in harmony. We say we want equality and prosperity for everyone. We say we want to live united in a democracy. But do we really? We often forget that the macro is simply the micro magnified, that what we see in the outer world is a pure reflection of the inner. We want to have love and peace, but the question is, “Are we willing to be love and peace?”

That is both a profound and a provocative question. Before reading that, I thought of peace as a quality without an actual doer. Like when I use passive voice sentence construction. Therein is the provocation: who is the doer? Who is the subject of the sentence?

Reverend Johnson goes on to say, “In the physical realm we all breathe the same air and share the same atmosphere. We forget that this is also true in the spiritual realm. Our thoughts, words, deeds, and emotions set something into motion that seeks agreement. The larger the number of people who resonate with a given idea, the greater is its outer manifestation. Whatever we harbor in our hearts—what we think, say, feel, do, and the like—has energy patterns that vibrate into the ethers, the shared collective field in which we all live. In a sense, we are all breathing in each other’s internal musings, as well as external actions. Just as no one has private air, our “private” lives are not so private. Our lives, moreover, are not merely the reflection of what has happened; at every moment we are making things happen. In this world of cause and effect, we tend to perceive ourselves as effect, forgetting that we are also cause.” http://www.soundstrue.com/weeklywisdom/?source=podcast&p=8465&category=WW&version=full

During a recent Oprah interview, Diana Nyad said, “Am I living the life that I can admire? It’s not what can I do, but who I want to be.” This philosophy requires an “I am— ” and a commitment to achieve the “I am.” She can say, ‘I swam from Cuba to Key West.” No one would say, “There was swimming today near Florida.” Or “Marathon swimming broke out today at the Southeastern coast of the U.S.” Ridiculous, yes.

Both of these women have inspired me today, and Ms. Nyad reminds me it is a commitment. “I am Love. I am Peace.”