One year ago today, my older brother Luis passed away.


He was the eldest of 7 siblings, with me coming in as 2nd..

Around 9:30pm, we had recieved the call from my mother, who was at his bedside, that despite their best efforts, the doctors not only expected him not to make it thru the night, but also that he had only a few hours left.

When the realization came to me that by morning, I would no longer have a big brother, there was only one thought that seemed to occupy my head, one feeling that filled my heart:
That his last few hours on this planet be of absolute peace.

This feeling of was soon followed by the the knowing that since I was hundreds of miles away, the only way that I could contribute to his peace, was to simply wish it upon him.

I came to understand, to truly understand, that we are all beings of Love. That we all live with the power & freedom to decide whether to tap into this Love or not. And as Victor Frankl once said, no matter what our "outside conditions" are, no one can ever take away that power to decide.


I also came to understand that that to wish peace upon another being is one of the most, if not the most, important way of expressing that Love.


To try & empathize with some one, is peace.
To try to understand some one, is peace.
To try to help some one, is peace.
To forgive some one is peace.

To become peace, all you have to do is decide to be Peace.


For the past year, I've been thinking alot about my very last conversation that I had with my brother.
It was two months before that night.
It was on the phone, & we spoke of the possibilty of him coming down from Denver to spend Christmas with the rest of the family here in Chicago. The farthest notion from either of our minds was that in two months time, he would no longer even be alive. During that conversation, I was speaking to a man who truly believed that he still had a whole life ahead of him. And he was only one year & six months older than me.

I would like to think that, if there was any consciousness in him during his last few hours, if there was any awareness at all of his little brother, that he would have wished upon me the same Peace that I wanted for him (more than anything I had ever wanted for some else, up that piont in my life). And I'm sure that if this was so, he would have wanted me to have it now, instead of waiting till I only had a few hours left here on Earth.
( Coincidently, one of his favorite sayings was "Cuz you just never know.".)


After that night, I made a decision.
I don't want to wait til then.
I want it now.
And I have to continue to decide to want it now.

For the rest of my life,
whether that emcompasses 50 years, 50 days or even 50 minutes,
I have to make that decision every minute of every day that I'm on this world, a world where Peace is very rarely truly encouraged.

I have just made that decision, again.
Wherever you are,
whatever your situation,
I hope that as you read this,
you decide to interpret this not as me addressing to the org in general.
I hope that you can see this simply as from one individual to another, from one human to another.
From me to you.


Right here, right now,



I bid you Peace.

right on Ill, right on

beautiful words

Thank you for sharing

beautiful soul...
thank you i bid you peace as well...

brownsugar said:

...and this is something i really needed to hear-thank you

beautiful...

As always ... I bid you peace

Love,

Mach

Thank you Illustrator. Your words will have a ripple effect. Each of us will, hopefully go out into the world today with a kinder, more reflective spirit. Each one we come into contact with will recognize the Peace, and carry it into their own journey. I'm so sorry you have lost your brother and I hope you will feel the energy of your message as it makes it's way back toward you. Much love, nikki

Thanks for sharing- it is all about learning, growing, love and appreciation


Much love and peace within your heart for your loss.

to my

MoonSongs said:

Yes, that would be wonderful to think so. I hope we can all make the changes necessary, starting from today.

Wonderful words Illustrator, that really touched me. I like the idea of "starting from today" - I usually find myself rushing around, achieving very little during the day. I've long felt the need to start my day off with simple meditation and believe this would be a good starting point for me, reflecting on the concept of peace.

I'm really sorry for your loss - I know the anniversary must be a particularly difficult time of year for you and your family and my thoughts are with you all.

Kiren
x

Thank you for sharing

Another Day by July.
Dec, 27th 2005.

One moment. One breeze.
One day feeling at ease.
Another sunrise.
Another sunset.
Another kiss.
Another caress.
A hug.
A passing glance.
A whisper.
Another chance.
As summer nights fade.
A flower grows in a garden alone.
To be alive.
When the sun shines.
When the rain falls, from above.
The ones gone from us.
Forever loved.

Gone But Not Forgotten.
[Edited 12/3/06 23:31pm]

blessed are the peacemakers...