I was given this ornament from my cousin Jay-Jay in 2018.

I dated someone for 7 years and even though I had fun dating other guys for a couple more years, I thought it was about time to be in a relationship again. The timing was serendipitous because my hub, who twenty-five years ago was known as a “player”, was thinking the same thing too. When we started getting serious about our relationship, we had an understanding that we would use a word of endearment that would represent “love” but not in a super-committed-serious “love” way. Gosh, no! Coming into this relationship with the baggage that we each carried, the word “love” was too much for us to exchange. We decided that saying “peace” was the perfect word to convey our feelings.

We were in our late 20’s and we said peace because it wasn’t gushy or loaded and more importantly, we didn’t feel embarrassed to exchange the endearment in front of others. Twenty plus years later, we still say peace to each other on a daily basis but we’ve grown up and also say the mature phrase I Love You. In hind sight, as modern day hippies using the word peace , we were saying more to each other than we thought. We were wishing each other something huge, massive and ironically more gushier than love.

All humans, no skin color or social status exempt, seek basic needs on a daily basis: To feel loved, to feel connection, to feel safe and to feel accepted. In my opinion, all of these needs fall under the giant umbrella of peace. To feel peace both within ourselves and within our surroundings, we have to encompass love, connection, safety and acceptance. For most people, peace is the overall goal. It is one of our biggest needs because if we live in peace, we are confident. When we have confidence in ourselves we will have confidence in others.

My cousin Jay-Jay gave this card to me so many years ago. It has remained framed ever since.

Universal Hour of Peace, according to nationaldaycalendar.com, is celebrated “From 11:30 p.m. on December 31st to 12:30 a.m. on January 1st each year, Universal Hour of Peace hopes to take a step toward a war-free world. The day encourages the promotion of peaceful activities during the hour of observance.

…Dr. Barbara Condron at the School of Metaphysics conceived the first Universal Hour of Peace, and the world celebrated on October 24, 1995. It coincided with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations and the autumnal equinox. The following year it was moved to January 1st at Noon GMT. It is now celebrated from 11:30 p.m. December 31st to 12:30 a.m. January 1st.”

I would venture to guess that there is only a small percentage of Americans who celebrate Universal Hour of Peace. Probably because most of us are already in bed by 1130p on New Year’s Eve. And those who are up at 1130p are partying to close out the year. Or maybe political views stand in the way of celebrating this hour. Or maybe, just maybe, it hasn’t been talked about enough. We can change that. There are many ways to celebrate this one hour of peace. Nationaldaycalendar.com has a list of great ways to encourage peace. I believe the best way to celebrate this hour is to have AWARENESS. Being aware that this hour exists and telling people about it is a great way to support this movement. Wishing others peace for the new year is a thoughtful pinch and we can add a little FYI about Universal Hour of Peace. Encourage others to take the baton if you know you can’t stay up past 1130p to celebrate it. My guess is that when they moved Dr. Condron’s creation of this special hour from October to January 1st and then to New Year’s Eve at 1130pm-1230am, it wasn’t to discourage people from partying and watching the ball drop during the countdown in NYC. Rather, the hour represents a time of celebration when everyone is happy to let go of one year and welcome in a new one. Maybe within that hour of peace, we could accomplish letting go of old grudges and opening up to new possibilities. If we can do this within our lives, communities and nation, then maybe we can also accomplish peace within the universe. There’s hope.

I bought these mugs years ago at Starbucks at half price after Christmas. Love. I keep them out until Valentine’s Day.

Guess who gave me this sweater/sweatshirt/night time top. Did you guess Jay-Jay?

Not something else from Jay-Jay? Yes, a tea towel. It has survived many years of hand wiping!

In the 70’s, the hippies had the right idea of wearing and displaying peace signs. Holding up two fingers as a symbol of peace was a trend that the hippies’ made popular in America when they protested the Vietnam War. The trend has never faded away. Hippies just wanted unity; to be as one. Well, that and a bunch of drugs but that is beside the point. I know that I cannot solve the peace problems in Iraq or Nigeria but I can start being peaceful within myself and share my influence upon my family. Then peace can spill throughout the community. And so on and so on. Modern times calls for modern ways to display our pleas for peace. We use subtle approaches and use many everyday items like the ones in the pictures above. For me, these items not only celebrate the love I have for my hub, but they serve as good reminders to practice peace. Whenever I see or hear the word PEACE, even if a pause is ever so slight, I pause and I hope for peace. I think it works.

Pinches,

Barb